Batsumber Soum

The Batsumber Soum district is situated in the heart of Mongolia’s forested area and has a plentiful reserve. It benefits from its proximity to Ulaanbaatar and has paved roads and railroad connections, as well as good market access. The district has a tradition of vegetable cultivation and is home to university forestry research and training stations, tree nurseries, tree plantations, and greenhouses. Additionally, it is equipped with machinery and equipment for tree cutting and logging. Improving forest composition and productivity is important for local communities, and, while clear cutting does occur in fire- and pest-damaged forests, it must follow the proper procedures. In addition to the legal logging, illegal logging also occurs in Batsumber.

Photo 1, 2: Summer pasture; Community members

The Bayanbulag community

The Bayanbulag community is one of twelve communities in the Batsumber Soum (an administrative subdivision in Mongolia). The community primarily consists of nomadic pastoralist herders whose primary occupations revolve around animal husbandry activities. The centre of Batsumber Soum is approximately 68 km to the northeast, and the summer pastures of the Bayanbulag community are situated around 83 km away from the capital city, Ulaanbaatar.

Members of the Bayanbulag community use mobile pastoral agriculture, which involves moving approximately 10 km between seasons. The main selling activities consist of supplying fresh cow’s milk to a milk factory in Ulaanbaatar, selling meat to consumers in the community area, mostly to the the Bayanbual Resort and the market in the capital city.

In recent meetings, a co-management contract was approved by the Citizen’s Representative Khural of the Bag (a sub-district) and the Bag Governor. It is now awaiting final approval from the Bag, the Soum Governor and the Community leader. The new co-management contract ensures tenure rights for community members for their seasonal pastures, particularly for summer pastures, which were previously a subject of dispute among local stakeholders. Additionally, it granted emergency rights and responsibilities to community members and the Bag Governor during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The second key-focus of the sub-project was to improve the sale of milk and dairy products within the community, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. To address the specific needs of the community, new cooling equipment was installed to facilitate the sale of these products during emergency situations. This matter was discussed during two initial meetings with community members, and it was collectively agreed to acquire additional refrigerators for milk storage at both household and community levels, each with different capacities.