Green gold yearly operational report 2015

1. 1
Green Gold Project
Annual Operations Report
(1October 2014 – 31 October 2015)
Ulaanbaatar, October 2015

2. 2
Green Gold Project in brief
Name Green Gold Project Project Phase IV (2013-2016)
Reporting period 1 October 2014 – 31 October 2015
Budget for the period 4,798,204,000 MNT
Goal
Livelihoods of herders are improved and poverty is reduced in rural
Mongolia
Phase IV Objective
Herders, organised through collective action, manage rangeland
sustainably and have better access to technological knowledge
management and markets
Outcomes
1
Collective action for sustainable rangeland management:
Pasture-User Groups (PUG‟s) promote, at the herders‟ level,
sustainable pasture management and economic development
(f/m)
2
Applied agricultural research that produces results for
practitioners: A science-based understanding of range-
management issues enhances the scope for sustainable range
management at all levels
3
An agricultural extension service to provide practical
knowledge to the herders: The agricultural extension service
delivers useful services (knowledge and services) to all herders
(f/m)
4
Facilitate market access by linking yak herders to
processing companies: The income of yak herders has
increased
Key outputs
1 PUGs have successfully negotiated land-use contracts
2
Institutional capacities for the interpretation and application of
ecological potential-based rangeland management are
developed
3
Herders are reached via the PUG system with relevant and
tested extension messages
4
Herders‟ income increased through the improved value chain of
yak wool and camel wool
Geographic outreach
Seven western aimags: Bayan-Ulgii, KKhovd, Uvs, Gobi-Altai,
Zavkhan, Bayankhongor, Arkhangai
Main beneficiaries
About 60,000 herder households (300,000 individuals, of whom 45-
55 percent are female)
Partners
MIA, NAEC, NAMEM, ALAGCG, MSUA, NUM, RIAH, aimag, soum
governments, Aimag Federations of Pasture-User Groups of
herders, PUGs
SDC Contribution 9.8 million CHF
Government contribution 2.0 million CHF
Herders‟ contribution 0.7 million CHF

3. 3
Summary
Up to 60 percent of the country has been affected by drought this year. According to the National
Institute of Metereology and feedback from herders, the 2015/2016 winter is likely to be tough.
Winter preparation, therefore has been intense this year and is still on going. According to the
Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), as of October 2015 60 of percent of hay and forage
required for emergency is prepared. Of this, 70 percent was prepared by herders and 30 percent
by state-managed aimag and soum government reserves.
A subsidy programme for sheep and camel wool has been running for three years, and a hides
and skins subsidy programme for two years. The subsidies have both positive and negative
impacts. On the positive side, herders sell raw materials through cooperatives via a supply
contract with processing companies, which has given cooperatives an opportunity to earn income
and establish working relationships with processing companies. The government channelled the
subsidy through the Association of Wool and Cashmere Processors and the Association of Skin
and Hide processing companies. On the negative side, herders received a price topping from the
government irrespective of the quality of the products supplied. This was contrary to the interests
of processing companies in terms of the quality of the raw materials supplied. However, in 2015
the government issued a resolution to differentiate subsidy prices for camel wool based on
quality. First grade wool earns MNT 2000 per kilogram subsidy, while second and third grade
wool earns MNT 1000 per kilogram.
The global economic crisis and the negative development of Chinese and Russian markets
continues to threaten the future sales potential of animal fibres and hides/skins. As a result,
processors are purchasing only limited quantities of raw materials. In addition, the markets for
semi-processed hide/skin products are threatened by an increasing level of environmental
awareness that is changing consumers‟ patterns of consumption. The project will continue to
consult with textile producers in seeking alternative markets in Europe and North America. In the
case of meat, the project will qualify processors in the production of meat products as an
alternative to the sale of carcasses.
2015 marks the third year of implementation of the government‟s Local Development Fund (LDF)
and Soum Development Fund aimed at boosting rural development. In 2014, MNT 82.8 billion in
LDF was allocated to seven Green Gold aimags. However, due to the economic downturn, in
2015 that figure fell more than two fold to MNT 35.7 billion. Hence, there has been a significant
drop in investment in rangeland and livestock management activities.
In May 2015, a National Rangeland Health Assessment Report of Mongolia was completed
and submitted to the government. The six-year research project examined the state of
rangeland degradation in Mongolia as well as remedial technology for each stage of degradation.
The report has been shared with interest groups, policymakers, researchers, civil society
organisations (CSOs), international partners, rangeland management practitioners and herders.
Cooperation with ALACAG, NAMEM, MoFA and the Ministry of Environment and Green
Development has demonstrably improved, and ALACAG has adopted a new methodology for
rangeland health photo-monitoring and Ecological Site Description (ESD) models to complement
the existing five-year rangeland assessment methodology. The MoFA will submit a draft
Rangeland Law to Parliament in October 2015. A Green Gold team is part of a working group
established at the MoFA, sharing the results and experiences of PUG rangeland-use
agreements, particularly in relation to the participation of herders in rangeland management
planning and implementation, and the role of herders and their institutions at different levels (khot
ails, PUGs, APUGs, Aimag Federations [AFs], cooperatives). The main goal of the draft law is to
ensure long-term collective tenure/user rights for herder families to their traditional rangelands.
However, the law is likely to create tension in Parliament as the Ministry of Mining recently issued

4. 4
special exploration licences on an additional 30 million hectares of land, the majority of which is
currently used as rangeland for livestock.
As of June 2015, more than 600 PUGs of the total 1100 PUGs had negotiated rangeland-
use agreements with soum governments. The organisation of herders into PUGs and the
development of rangeland-use agreements has improved the participation of herder families in
annual soum rangeland-management planning and budget allocations. From 2013-2014, there
was on average a 1.5 times increase in LDF investments and local budget allocations for
improved rangeland management. In the 2013/2014 fiscal year, when the LDF budget was
highest (on average, each soum received MNT 200-300 million), investment proposals
developed by herders, PUGs and APUGs based on rangeland-use plans (such as building wells
and roads to expand rotational grazing areas, growing forage, and investing in high-productivity
breeding animals) received substantial financial support from soum governments. Herders and
PUGs were asked to contribute 10 percent of the total funding. This arrangement worked well.
However, in the 2015 fiscal year, funding for the LDF fell from MNT 50-80 million per soum on
average, as did investment contributions from local governments, hence many of the planned
investments from herders and PUGs were put on hold.
In order to further improve rangeland-use agreements, Green Gold in cooperation with the
Centre for Policy Research is piloting two-tier agreements. In addition to the rangeland-use
agreements negotiated between PUGs and soum governors, an agreement with more specific
conditions that are inclusive of rangeland health indicators (ESD/State and Transition Model
[STM]) and stocking rates will be established with smaller groups within PUGs and soum
governments. In the initial stage, eight PUGs from eight aimags have been selected. At first,
group members will agree on the rangelands to be covered by the second agreement
(winter/spring or four seasons); they will then calculate potential carrying capacity and by how
much that capacity is being exceeded, with consensus on a plan to reduce the stocking rate
within the next five to 10 years. The agreement period will be negotiated with each of the groups
and the stocking rate reduction plan will be monitored annually by soum governors. In return,
soum governments will agree on a support scheme for those herder groups, which will differ
according to the specific needs of each group. As well as improving the enforcement of
rangeland-use agreements, this pilot project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of targeted
subsidies with condtions stipulated for stocking rates and rangeland health. According to an initial
assessment and based on expert calculation, herder families are willing to reduce their herds by
8 percent on average annually. This is in accordance with herders‟ need to maintain an
appropriate level of livestock for reproduction. However, consideration needs to be given to rich
and poor herder households when determining the level of livestock reduction.
Ensuring the sustainability of the PUG system (PUGs, APUGs, AFs) is the centre of
attention in Green Gold Phase IV. PUGs, APUGs, AFs and cooperatives are central
components of Green Gold‟s legacy and sustainability. From 2014, the Green Gold PCU has
increasingly been mandating to aimag AFs local-level coordination and liaison with Green Gold
components and local stakeholders in order to develop their skills and capacity. There is an
increasing tendency to use PUG networks and structures in acivities that require the participation
of herder families, and to disseminate information. In this regard, soum APUGs and aimag AFs
are pursuing two major directions; one is to set up business cooperatives and facilitate the
collective marketing and sales of livestock products, and the second is to provide contracted
services to herder households on behalf of public and private partners.
All AFs have created second-level marketing cooperatives, and about 60 soum APUGs
have created primary-level marketing cooperatives. Since 2013, cooperative membership
has been continually increasing, as has shared capital and annual sales income. According to a
Green Gold cooperative assessment conducted in May 2015, of the 63 cooperatives assessed,

5. 5
30 had reached a level of regular and sustainable operations; the remaining 33 were still in the
early stages of development. All 63 cooperatives had experience developing long and short-term
supply contracts with processing companies and working as local agents to facilitate the supply
of livestock raw materials and the distribution of government subsidies to herder families. As of
2015, soum APUG and aimag AF-based cooperatives were managing sales of MNT 4.3 billion.
According to processing companies, the advantage of PUG-based cooperatives is trust and the
relationships developed with members that enable them to trace back suppliers and improve
quality control. In 2015, most of the processing companies that had received soft loans from the
Chinggis Bond had completed work to enhance their technical capacity. Ensuring the reliable
supply of good-quality raw materials is now one of the main considerations to guarantee success.
The second direction is for soum APUGs and AFs to provide services on behalf of public
and private stakeholders. One example that was greatly appreciated by local governments and
the MoFA was testing the effectiveness of traditional methods of rodent eradication, namely early
spring flooding combined with the creation of bird seats and nests. According to the MoFA, 40
percent of all rangelands are affected by rodents. In using this method, it is important to use a
time frame of 10-15 days of early spring frost and to mobilise people so flooding can take place
simultaneously to ensure rodents don‟t escape. The Arkhangai aimag AF was selected to
mobilise herders and PUGs in two soums. According to summer monitoring compared with
baseline data collected in early spring and feedback provided by herders, the rodent population
fell by 30-40 percent. This traditional method is five times less costly than the government‟s
allotted budget (MNT 300 per hectare versus MNT 1800 per hectare). A second flooding is
planned for November 2015 after rodents have moved underground for winter hibernation. The
pilot project will be finalised in March 2016 and the results will be shared with the MoFA and
nationwide. Another example was the financial support the Bayankhongor aimag AF received
from AVSF Mongolia (a French international NGO) to implement collective rangeland
management as part of the Sustainable Cashmere Project funded by the EU. With this financial
support, the PUG approach was up-scaled to four additional soums.
Meat sales and exports: This year, 13 domestic meat processing companies received export
licences to China by the Chinese inspections agency. Thus far, about 70,000 tonnes of
carcasses and processed meat products, such as frozen horse meat dumplings and dried yak
meat, were exported. However, animal health remains a major concern for meat exports.
Through a pilot project Green Gold implemented in Zavkhan aimag, herders supplied more than
45,000 head of sheep, goats and cattle to the Zavkhan Khuns company with a value of MNT 3.4
billion.
In 2015, Green Gold conducted the first extensive gender study at the level of herding
households. Three-hundred men and women from eight soums across Mongolia took part in the
survey. Different aspects of herding household life were studied: The division of labour, decision-
making, access/control of resources/benefits, participation in community activities, and child-
related issues. The main findings of the research were that workload sharing varied seasonally,
and that women‟s workload was greater than men‟s. Although both men and women work hard to
earn income for their families‟ livelihood, in relation to decision-making about how to spend family
income, women are involved in the evaluation process but final decisions are made by men. In
relation to household money management, men were slightly predominant, although women‟s
involvement was quite high (63 percent of husbands decided and in 58.5 percent of wives were
involved). Furthermore, most of the property of herding households (58.5 percent), including
livestock, winter/spring camps, motorcycles and other vehicles, is registered in husbands‟ names.
There is also a direct correlation between poor livelihood households and children's tendency to
pursue higher education after secondary school.

6. 6
Outcome 1: Pasture-User Groups (PUGs) promote at the herders‟ level sustainable pasture
management and economic development (f/m)
Output 1.1 PUGs have successfully negotiated land-use agreements (LUAs)
Output 1.2 APUGs are successfully accessing public and private funding
Output 1.3 Change of marketed volume and turnover of livestock products in cooperatives
Output 1.4 Women’s increased participation in the PUG system
Output 1.1: PUGs have successfully negotiated rangeland land-use agreements (LUAs)
A two-tier rangeland-use agreement is piloted: The main challenges of formalising
rangeland-use agreements (RUAs) and ensuring they are more effective and enforced remain
due to an inadequate legal environment and the lack of capacity of local technical personnel to
implement them. Following the Mid-Term Review, Green Gold organised technical assistance
from the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) to aimag APUG Federations in order to develop two-
tier RUAs; one level is a general RUA between PUGs, APUGs and soum governors; the second
is an RUA that smaller groups within PUGs negotiate with soum governors and which have
specific conditions on stocking rates and rangeland health. The CPR conducted a detailed
assessment from April to June among herder families to identify the preconditions that members
of the smaller groups would agree upon in relation to bearing responsibility for exceeding
carrying capacity and rangeland health. The preconditions identified are that there is no
trespassing by non-members, and that rangelands should be fully under the control of
members. Once a boundary is defined and members are in agreement, the group‟s rangeland
carrying capacity and rangeland health is estimated, as is the number of animals that would
exceed the determined carrying capacity. The next step of the agreement is to calculate the
number of animals to be reduced by each member of the group and to reach agreement on a
plan to reduce the stocking rate to improve rangeland health. This RUA will be be in force for 15
years; herder groups develop a plan to reduce stocking rates and improve rangeland conditons
within this time span which will be monitored annually by soum governors and soum land
managers. In return, soum governors agree on a support package for these groups. That
package varies depending on each context; in some soums, governors have agreed to
subsidise rangeland infrastructure, the building of wells, the issuing of long-term land tenure for
forage planting and facilitating livestock sales. This pilot aims also aims to demonstrate the
feasibility of a targeted government subsidy policy.
The CPR will pilot the two-tier agreement in one of the PUGs in one soum from each of the
seven Green Gold aimags. The results of the pilot will be shared at two levels; the first, a
demonstration event for policymakers, and the second capacity development training and
demonstration events for those stakeholders who will be entrusted with the implementation of
RUAs, PUG and APUG leaders, soum and aimag governors, soum land managers, bagh
governors, AHBU staff, soum environmental inspectors and meteorological technicians.
The Pasture Law will be submitted to Parliament in its autumn session: A working group at
the MoFA is developing the draft Pasture Law at the request of the Minister for submission to
Parliament in October 2015. Green Gold staff are part of the working group, and RUA conditions
and the experiences of Green Gold are shared among group members. The main goal of the
Pasture Law is to ensure long-term collective tenure/user rights for herder families to their
traditional rangelands.

7. 7
About 60 percent of all the PUGs have established RUAs with soum governments: Of the
1100 PUGs formed in Green Gold‟s seven target aimags, more than 600 had established RUAs
with soum governors. According to internal monitoring and soum government land management
reports, the organisation of herders into PUGs and the development of RUAs had demonstrably
improved the participation of herders in rangeland management planning and implementation.
Increasing awareness among herders of the consequences of rangeland degradation has
resulted in effective rotational grazing, and resting is carried out in accordance with plans
agreed upon between PUGs and local governments and included in soum annual rangeland
management plans.
Table 1: RUAs made, rangelands rotated and rested in accordance with soum annual
rangeland-use plans as of August 2015
Aimags Number of
PUGs
established
Of which
PUGs
established
LUAs as of
June 2015
Rangelands under
regular rotational
grazing in addition to
those as of December
2014 (ha)
Rangelands under
regular resting in
addition to those as of
December 2014 (ha)
Arkhangai 323 51 124,685 (578,647) 15,270 (25,923)
Bayankhongor 95 18 203,100 (182,720) 53,500 (27,800)
Gobi-Altai 78 61 254,100 (214,000) 166,100 (1,211,220)
Khovd 87 70 2,785,240 (2,348,802) 724,000 (654,854)
Uvs 118 18 1,159,321 (525,003) 180,861 (143,635)
Zavkhan 198 198 2,803,309 (2,698,786) 1,924,923 (1,811,840)
Bayan-Ulgii 201 190 1,412,000 (1,400,000) 1,682,600 (1,682,600)
Total 1100 606 8,741,755 (7,987,436) 4,747,254 (5,557,872)
*()-data as of December 31, 2014
However, due to drought and late rain this summer, rangeland rejuvenation has been slow and
herders have had limited grazing areas. Rain began from mid-July, which assisted rangeland
recovery and the availability of water. According to field reports from PUGs, APUGs and local
governments, with late summer and rain, animals have been underfed for a protracted period
and have hence grown progressively weaker. As a result, grazing intensity is likely to be high
this summer and autumn in the rangelands in order to sufficiently fatten animals for winter.
Increasing the investment of herders and local governments in rangeland management
improvement: Green Gold financial support to PUGs and APUGs is complementing and
promoting local investment. Compared with 2010 data, there has been increased investment in
improving rangeland management by local governments and herders. This peaked in
2013/2014 when the LDF was created, and on average soums were given from MNT 150-450
million a year depending on population numbers. Planned LDF funding for 2013 was received in
May-July 2014. The majority of the projects initiated by PUGs, herders, APUGs and
cooperatives in Green Gold target soums and included in soum annual land management
planning have received financial support from the LDF and local governments. According to
LDF regulations, beneficiaries are required to develop a written proposal and contribute at least
10 percent of total funding. Green Gold provided training on proposal writing for PUG and
APUG leaders, and also provided complementary funding of up to 10-30 percent of the total
investment. If total project investment is between MNT 0.5-15 million, Green Gold contributes
about 20-30 percent; if total investment is above MNT 15 million, Green Gold‟s contribution is
about 10 percent. This is based on the experiences of previous years in which the average
investment proposal per PUG and herder group (HG) ranges from MNT 0.5-15 million. This
policy encourages PUGs and HGs to develop proposals and access local funding opportunities.
Another criteria for Green Gold complementary funding is the urgency and priority of the project

8. 8
for herders and PUGs, and its relevance to improved rangeland management, such as building
roads, bridges or water points, access to unused pastures to reduce grazing pressure, fencing
haymaking areas, growing forage for complementary feeding, and improving the per-head
productivity of livestock.
As well as complementing LDF funding, Green Gold
financial support is also used to encourage herder families
to join PUGs and establish RUAs, and to support the
implementation of RUA conditions. In new soums covered
by Green Gold in 2013 and 2014 in Arkhangai,
Bayankhongor, Uvs and Gobi-Altai aimags, this approach
has been very effective. Herders were able to see the
visible results of their collective efforts to improve grazing
management, rotations and resting in a short period of time.
For example, in Undur Ulaan and Chuluut soums, while
clearing mountain roads to access unused pastures to
expand their grazing area, herder families were able to rest
winter and spring rangelands from March to November, and
the recovery of rangelands was high after just nine months.
In many soums, the same results have been achieved by
herder families while rehabilitating handmade manual wells
to access new rangelands and reduce grazing pressure.
Compared with three to four years ago, the willingness of
herders and local governments to invest in more productive
animals has visibly improved. The networks created among
PUGs, APUGs and leaders have often been used to identify
local high-productivity animals such as white cashmere
goats from Bayankhongor aimag (Bumbugur Tsagaan
yamaa), meat-bearing sheep from Uvs aimag (Bayad
sheep), high-quality yak wool from Arkhangai aimag
(Terhiin Bor Sarlag), and long-wool sheep from Zavkhan
aimag (Sartuul Honi, a good raw material for carpet-
making). In 2011, of the investment proposals Green Gold
received, breeding projects made up 1-3 percent; as of
2014, half of up to 90 investment project proposals
submitted by PUGs, APUGs and cooperatives focused on
improved breeding. Green Gold encourages herder families
prior to buying high-productivity breeds from outside to
improve their existing herds through the selective breeding
of their best-quality animals to ensure that productivity is
fully exploited.
In 2016, Green Gold will include in the training programme for herders, PUGs and APUGS skills
development to simplify cost-benefit analyses for future investments.
Table 2: Investment projects and Green Gold‟s contribution, and a comparision between 2014
and 2015 (thousand MNT) as of June 2015.
Aimags Main investment projects GG contribution
Rangeland
management
Hay/forage
production
Water supply Herd productivity
enhancement
2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015
Arkhangai 2500 60,000 11,910 25,10
0
300 13,20
0
22,000 50,000
36,710 61,900
Picture 1: Handmade bridges and
roads to access new rangeland in
Chuluut soum, Arkhangai aimag

9. 9
Bayankhongor 2000 20,000 0 13,20
0
0 15,00
0
1200 5000
1200 23,200
Gobi-Altai 38,577 23,000 0 3000 28,93
9
50,00
0 67,516 31,000
KKhovd 830 4300 14,185 3500 5200 10,00
0
0 20,000
20,215 9800
Uvs 0 3500 21,100 35,00
0
414 1000 0 15,000
21,514 3500
Bayan-Ulgii 14,000 25,000 24,000 50,00
0
1000 1500 22,500 30,000
60,500 0
Zavkhan 20,000 56,000 3800 15,00
0
120 2400 12,812 30,000
36,732 0
However, local government investment fell significantly in 2015 due to the cut to LDF funding.
On average, soums received from MNT 30-80 million compared with the 2013/2014 fiscal year,
where the average funding per soum was in the range of MNT 150-450 million. According to
Green Gold experience working with local organisations such as PUGs, APUGs, bagh citizens‟
meetings, cooperatives and herder families, being able to access LDF funding for one year saw
significant improvements to such rangeland management challenges as the lack of grazing
areas, lack of water access, hay-making and rodent control, and that this encouraged the
participation of the herding community in local governance. In short, the impact of the LDF and
SLF has been significant in its short existence.
Increasing local ownership of PUG networks and structures: There is an increasing
tendency to use PUG networks and structures in activities that require the participation of herder
families, and to disseminate information. In 90 of Green Gold‟s 126 target soums, soum annual
land-management planning is based on PUG structure. PUGs develop individual rangeland-use
plans and submit them to bagh citizens‟ meetings for discussion. Bagh governors unify the
PUGs‟ rangeland-use plans and submit them to soum citizens‟ meetings for approval and
inclusion in soum annual land-management planning and budgeting. According to feedback
received from local governments and soum rangeland management reports, in those soums
where annual rangeland-management plans are based on the PUG structure, rangeland
management practices and the seasonal rotational grazing schedule is easily enforced, and
local investment is based on the needs and priorities of herders. Investment proposals and
investments made in soums with advanced PUG structures was higher compared with those
soums where PUG structures were new and weak. For example, in Tariat and Ikh Tamir soums
in Arkhangai aimag, the percentage of investments targeting improved rangeland management
represented 20-35 percent of the total local budget, whereas in neighbouring soums with no
PUG structures or recently established PUGs, such as Batsengel and Tsengel, few activities
were planned and related investments comprised just 5 percent ot the total soum budget and
LDF. In addition, rangeland degradation in the latter two soums was more widespread than in
the former two.
Since 2015, with support from Green Gold and ALAGAC, the Arkhangai aimag government and
the land agency is up-scaling the PUG approach and ESD/STM-based rangeland health
monitoring to the 12 soums in the aimag and AVSF project in Bayankhongor aimag up-scaled in
3 soums where AVSF project is implemented.

10. 10
Table 3. Number of soums adopting PUG-based soum annual rangeland-management planning
Aimags Total soums Number of soums that have adopted PUG-based land-
management planning
2013 2014 2015
Arkhangai 20 4 5 17
Bayankhongor 17 4 4 7
Gobi-Altai 18 11 11 11
Khovd 17 2 10 12
Zavkhan 23 12 16 22
Uvs 18 9 13 9
Bayan-Ulgii 13 12 12 12
126 41 71 90
One example that was greatly appreciated by local governments and the MoFA was testing the
effectiveness of traditional methods of rodent eradication, namely early spring flooding
combined with the creation of bird seats and nests. According to the MoFA, 40 percent of all
rangelands are affected by rodents. In using this method, it is important to adhere to a time
frame of 10-15 days of early spring frost and to mobilise people so flooding can take place
simultaneously to ensure rodents don‟t escape. The PUG network has been used to
disseminate information and mobilise herder families to organise spring flooding. Initially two
soums were selected; one is heavily infested with rodents (80 percent of rangelands) and the
other is moderately infected (30 percent of rangelands). The pilot project has been co-financed
by the aimag Department of Agriculture/MoFA (60 percent of costs), herder families (labour,
transport, water) and the Aimag Federation of APUGs (poles and food costs).
Based on summer monitoring compared with baseline data collected in early spring and on
feedback provided by herders, the results indicate that the rodent population fell by 30-40
percent. In relation to cost per hectare, the traditional method of flooding is five times less costly
than the government‟s allotted budget (MNT 300 per tonne, MNT 1800 per hectare). The
second flooding is planned to take place in November 2015 after rodents move underground for
winter hibernation. This pilot project will be finalised n March 2016 and the results will be shared
nationwide.
In Ugiinuur soum, early spring flooding covered 80,000 ha of rangeland and 5030 main
habitants (Picture 1); 262 bird seats and 45 nests were created involving 56 soum government
employees, and 305 male and female herders and 86 vehicles were mobilised (Table 4).
Table 4: Results of Ugiinnuur soum rodent-control work
Bags Toglokh Doit Zegestei Ugii Orkhon Total
PUGs 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 3

11. 11
Flooded
main
habitats 900 700 920 1244 150 200 234 320 242 120 5030
Bird seats 50 20 23 21 8 40 37 20 26 17 262
Bird nests 1 1 5 9 1 11 12 2 2 1 45
Rangeland
area (ha) 13,000
12,00
0
10,00
0 8000 2000
10,00
0 8000 7000 6000 4000
80,00
0
In Erdenemandal soum, early spring flooding covered 53,000 ha of rangeland, and 855 main
habitats were found; 175 bird seats and 24 nests were created involving 63 herder families and
38 soum government officials.
Table 5: Results of Erdenemandal soum rodent-control work
Bags Erdene Uul Teel Ulziit Khan Undur Alag Uul Total
PUGs 1 2 1 1 1 1
Main habitats
flooded 440 280 65 20 50 855
Bird seats 50 20 54 15 6 30 175
Bird nests 10 2 1 1 10 24
Project results were broadcast on Malchin TV nationwide twice this summer. Since then, five
soums from Bayankhongor, Khuvsgul and Bulgan aimags have contacted Green Gold, and
soum governments are planning to test late autumn flooding (once the rodents have moved to
their winter habitat). When winter feed and bedding is destroyed, rodents die during the first
winter frosts. According to the Plant Inspection Institute, about 70 percent of all rangeland is
heavily infested with rodents.
Increasing awareness of the stocking rate and investments for better herd-management
practices: As well as improving grazing management practices, Green Gold has been
promoting initiatives from herder families, PUGs, APUGs and cooperatives aimed at improving
animal productivity and hence income per head. Initially, AFs are encouraged to organise skills
and awareness-raising trainings for herder families (particularly younger herder families) on
managing selective breeding within existing herds. The next step is facilitating the exchange of
high-quality breeding animals between aimags using networks and contacts established through
soum APUGs and aimag AFs. There are many local breeds of animals known for the high
quality of their products and higher productivity, such as white cashmere goats from
Bayankhongor aimag, red goats from Durvuljin soum in Zavkhan aimag, the Bayad breed of
sheep from Uvs aimag (meat and wool), the Sartuul sheep from Zavkhan (wool), and the Terhiin
Bor yak (high-quality yak wool). As of June 2015, 27 nuclear breeding herds of different
livestock had been established by PUGs, APUGs, cooperatives and soum governments and
were being used for breeding by herder families with support from Green Gold.
Table 6: Nuclear breeding herds of local high-productivity animals used for breeding purposes
Breeds Bayankhon
gor
Zavkhan Khovd Uvs Gobi-
Altai
Arkhangai
Bayankhongor whilte goats 4
Bayad sheep 4 2 5 1
Dukhum Tungalag (camel) 2 1
Lamyn Gegeen Ulaan
(camel)
2 1
Sartuul sheep (wool) 5
Selenge cattle (meat and 1

12. 12
milk)
Total 8 9 3 5 2 1
Development of PUGs’ Herders’ Matching Funds: Since 2010, Green Gold has been
supporting PUGs to establish Herders‟ Matching Funds. The main aim is to use economic
incentives to promote collective action among herders for better rangeland management.
Depending on budget availability, Green Gold contributes 10-15 CHF per PUG member and
members contribute the same amount to the Matching Fund. With support from Green Gold,
PUGs have developed simple rules to manage the funds. As of June 2015, the total sum of
Herders‟ Matching Funds was MNT 2.1 billion, and about 34,000 herder families had joined.
This means that each herder family has a share of MNT 90,000 in the Matching Fund.
According to Green Gold experience, in the beginning (one to five years), the Herders‟ Matching
Fund is used by members to bolster seasonal cash shortages while borrowing with interest
rates below bank rates (up to 2.5 percent a month), with the amount ranging from MNT 100,000
to MNT 1 million for a period of three to six months. The loan repayment rate is high at 97
percent.
As the Matching Fund increases and herders‟ trust grows, herders are willing to contribute
more. For example, in Tsengel, Altai and Ulaankhus soums in Bayan-Ulgii aimag and Ikh Tamir
and Tariat soums in Arkhangai aimag members agreed to increase their contribution from MNT
50,000 to MNT 200,000 and transform it into a business cooperative or savings and credit
cooperative. However, as setting up savings and credit cooperatives requires special licences
and regulations, such as having a full-time accountant and manager, the costs increase. Thus
far, only two APUGs in Tsengel soum in Bayan-Ulgii aimag and Telmen soum in Zavkhan aimag
have established savings and credit cooperatives. In the remaining soums, Herders‟ Matching
Funds are operated and managed by the PUGs themselves as Community Development Funds
at the APUGs. Starting in July 2015, Green Gold negotiated an agreement with Khaan Bank to
make all transactions via bank transfer. This improves the transparency and monitoring of fund
operations. In accordance with the new regulation, PUG leaders issue an assurance for the
members to receive loans, and members enter into an agreement with APUG leaders to take
out a loan from the Matching Fund.
Green Gold is undertaking an assessment of Herders‟ Matching Funds to determine the main
purposes of the loans. The results of the assessment will be available by mid-October.
Table 7: Herders‟ Matching Funds (as of June 31, 2015)
Aimags Total
herder
households
Member
HHs
Contribution „000
MNT
Interest
rate
income
„000 MNT
Balance as of June 2015
(„000 MNT)
Green
Gold
Herders
Arkhangai 5080 3996 86,750 81,843 35,433 168,593
Bayankhongor 12,724 8520 190,050 203,044 310,033 393,094
Gobi-Altai 2151 2160 45,905 15,120 8288 69,313
Khovd 5134 4210 93,203 51,915 13,192 158,310
Uvs 7332 3197 163,700 78,349 59,200 301,250
Zavkhan 8435 5678 103,330 110,893 17,246 231,469
Bayan-Ulgii 10,112 7086 203,140 221,948 331,063 756,152
Total 51,148 34,817 886,078 763,113 774,459 2,078,184
Improving disaster risk preparedness: Green Gold support improves the disaster risk
preparedeness of herder families in many ways. Herders are dependent on rangelands for their
livestock feed, with the exception of a few days of additional feeding in winter and early spring.
The most difficult period is the five months between December and April/May until rangelands

13. 13
start to regenerate. When heavy snow falls or blizzards occur, it is impossible for animals to
graze on open rangelands, and if hay or forage is not available for indoor feeding, the animals
eventually starve to death. The situation worsens if animals are not sheltered from the cold and
do not have warm, dry bedding. After being exposed to frost for a few days, animals freeze to
death. In Mongolia, there are two kinds of dzud: Hoof dzud or black dzud, which results in
animals dying of malnutrition because they lack the food to overcome the long, cold winter, and
frost dzud, when temperatures drop dramatically, sometimes below -50C, causing animals to
freeze to death.
According to herders, winter preparation means:
- Making good “otor” (ensuring animals gain enough weight and fat during summer and
autumn grazing to overcome winter)
- Preparing additional hay and forage
- Resting winter and spring rangelands for regeneration
- Preparing warm shelters and bedding for animals
- Keeping money aside in case of emergency while selling animals in autumn
Green Gold contributes to the improved preparedness of herder families in natural disasters:
1. Herder families in soums with PUG structures and rangeland-use plans (34,000 herder
families in about 60 soums of a total of 126 soums in seven Green Gold target aimags) are able
to rest from grazing winter and spring rangelands until the following winter. As of June 2015,
according to reports from PUGs and APUGs, about 3.9 million hectares of winter and spring
rangelands are fully rested from March to November. For example, in Undurshireet soum, the
lack of summer rangelands means winter and spring camping areas are used for summer
grazing, which has led to an increase in conflicts among herders. When herders are organised
into PUGs and have introduced rangeland-use planning, all available rangelands are divided
into four seasonal grazing areas and herders start practicing rotational grazing between four
seasons.
2. In relation to “otor”, the availability of plentiful summer and autumn rangelands is essential.
Remote rangelands are usually used for otor, and in Green Gold target soums about 120,000
ha have been made assessible while clearing mountain roads and constructing new wells.
3. The creation of reserve rangelands for winter/spring: While herders are becoming organised
into PUGs, one of the issues Green Gold encourages discussion on is the creation of reserve
areas in case of emergencies. This, however, is dependent on the soum having sufficient
seasonal grazing areas. If not, it is difficult to put aside reserve rangelands. PUGs and HGs
generally keep aside reserves near winter and spring camps. Among the 126 target soums,
about 24 soums had created reserve areas totalling 113,000 ha and had adopted special
regulations on the use of reserve rangelands. After harvesting, fenced hay-making and forage-
planting areas are used as autumn rangelands, and if the year turns out to be difficult, those
areas are kept aside as reserve rangelands for winter. There are about 4100 ha of fenced hay-
making areas and 210 ha of forage planting areas.

14. 14
Table 7: Reserve rangelands reflected in soum annual rangeland-use plans as of June 2015
Aimags Soums Reserve areas created
(ha)
Percentage of total
rangelands
Arkhangai 4 12,000 0.6
Gobi-Altai 2 34,648 0.6
Bayankhongor 3 23,450 1.2
Bayan-Ulgii 2 8000 0.2
Zavkhan 2 6700 0.09
Uvs 6 15,000 0.3
Khovd 5 13,580 0.2
Total 24 113,378 3.5
4. Forage and fenced hay-making: Herders and PUGs are increasingly planting forage on a
small scale. Green Gold has been providing support, complementing soum governments, to
those herder families, PUGs, APUGs and cooperatives issued with long-term licences for forage
and hay-making areas, and is contributing 10 percent of total funding. In 2014/2015 as a part of
the LDF, 158 PUGs, APUGs and cooperatives were supported with complementary Green Gold
funding.
Table 8: Forage and hay-making as of June 2015
Aimags Number of
PUGs/APUGs
and
cooperatives
involved
Forage Fenced/improved
hay-making
areas
(ha)
Investment (000‟ MNT)
Area
planted
(ha)
Harvest
(tonnes)
Green
Gold
Local
budget
Herders
Arkhangai 40 90 360 700 5000 3000 17,700
Bayan-Ulgii 20 20 80 3000
Bayankhongor 15 8 32 90 1000 3700
Gobi-Altai 30 30 120 50 1200 1 000 3800
Khovd 10 10 40 120 5000 1000 1000
Uvs 30 50 200 100 8000 2000 1000
Zavkhan 13 5.5 22 100 300 395
Total 158 213.5 8540 4160 20,500 7000 27,595
5. In the aftermath of the 2009/2010 dzuds, Herders‟ Matching Funds played a crucial role in
herder families being able to access to money to buy urgent medical supplies for family
members, fuel to send small children and women to soum centres, and additional forage to
ensure animals did not starve to death. The easy accessibility of the Matching Funds was very
helpful, according to herders during the dzud. As of June 2015, there were MNT 2 billion in
Herders‟ Matching Funds, from which about 34,000 herder families were benefiting. According

15. 15
to PUG and APUG leaders, local banks feared this coming winter would be severe so they
ceased issuing loans to herders with fewer than 200 animals. Herders Matching Funds have
also been used by herder families to send children to school and to prepare for winter.
Output 1.2 APUGs are successfully accessing public and private funding
Supporting the sustainability of the PUG system (PUGs, APUGs/cooperatives,
AFs/cooperatives) is the central component of Green Gold Phase IV. In this regard, soum
APUGs and aimag AFs are pursuing two major directions: Establishing business cooperatives
and facilitating the collective marketing and sales of livestock products, and providing contracted
servies to local public and private partners.
Creation of primary and second-level cooperatives among soum APUGs and Aimag
Federations of APUGs: All AFs have created second level-marketing cooperatives and about
60 soum APUGs have created primary-level marketing cooperatives. Since 2013, cooperative
membership has been continually increasing, and with it shared capital and annual sales
income (Tables 9, 10). All 60 have established contractual relationships with processing
companies and are working as local agents to organise the collective supply of all types of
livestock raw materials. About 35 cooperatives have been contracted to channel government
subsidies to herders on sheep wool, skin and hides. For yak wool supply, APUGs and AF-
based cooperatives are supplying about 80 percent (60 tonnes) of yak wool to processing
companies. According to the processing companies, the advantage of PUG-based cooperatives
is trust and the relationships developed with members that enable them to trace back suppliers
and improve quality control.
Based on Mid-Term Review recommendations, Green Gold conducted an assessment of each
of the soum cooperatives between March and May 2015. The assessment was conducted in
line with the seven principles of cooperative capacity development: Voluntary open
membership; democratic governance and the monitoring of members; the economic
participation of members; the independence of a cooperative; education, training and
information; cooperation between cooperatives; and common interest. Basic training was also
carried out during this period. The assessment, involving experts from major national
cooperative associations, led to the development of detailed recommendations and a Plan of
Activities for each of the 60 cooperatives. It was the most recent and most detailed field
assessment undertaken of herders‟ cooperatives. The recommendations and Plan of Activities
will be shared within and outside Green Gold and will be a major reference document for Green
Gold cooperative-related capacity development activities in the remaining period. In relation to
the Plan of Acitivities, the Green Gold PCU is starting training for cooperative leaders in
September.
Picture 2: Herders during cooperative assessment and training

16. 16
The main findings of the assessment were:
Positive:
- In accordance with the seven principles, of the 63 cooperatives assessed, 30 had
reached a level of regular and sustainable operations, while the remaining 33 were still
in the early stages of development and their operations were not regular.
- In the past two years, the total shared equity of APUGs and AF cooperatives has
increased on average by a factor of 2.2. Up to 15 cooperatives received financial support
from the LDF and other organisations and projects being implemented in the soum.
- The increase of cooperative memberships year by year demonstrates that herders are
aware of the benefits of joining cooperatives. There are cooperatives implementing such
innovative initiatives as the issuing of membership cards and shareholder books in which
are recorded shared capital, dividends and participation in cooperative meetings and
acitivities. These initiatives boost herders‟ trust and encourage them to take part in
cooperative activities.
- Secondary-level cooperatives created by AFs are an appropriate institutional structure to
coordinate and facilitate the improved access of smaller primary and soum-based
cooperatives to market activities.
- Feedback from herders and other local stakeholders demonstrated that Green Gold took
the right approach in supporting the establishment of cooperatives alongside PUGs and
APUGs. Members express their appreciation for the support provided.
Problems:
- In general, herders have an inadequate level of understanding about cooperatives. This
hinders them in enrolling in cooperatives and taking part in cooperative activities.
- Despite increasing contributions from members, the financial capacity of cooperatives is still
weak. Although cooperatives enter into supply contracts with buyers in order to secure raw
materials from herders, to compete with middle men they need better cash flow for deposits.
For this reason, although they are members of cooperatives, some herders are tempted to
sell raw materials to middle men for a lower price.
- The internal governance and operational management of cooperatives is still weak. For
example, cooperatives‟ internal regulations do not comply with legal requirements and
standards. On many occasions, they simply copy each other and don‟t reflect the specifics
of the different cooperatives.
- With weak governance and operational regulations, cooperatives lack the capacity to
determine their overall development policies and strategies. The heads of the majority of
cooperatives have dual positions, also working for soum APUGs without salaries.
- Herders‟ cooperatives have to pay 10 percent VAT from total income derived from the sale
of raw materials irrespective of the fact that they do not create any added value. This is a
loophole in the current cooperative law. As a result, they must always seek ways to avoid
paying VAT, which has a negative impact on their operations.

17. 17
Table 9: APUGs and AF-based cooperatives‟ scale of collective assets and sales income
Aimags
Coops
assessed
Shareholding capital („000
MNT)
Sales income (mln MNT)
2014 2015 2014 2015
Arkhangai 3 47,250.0 165,750.0 403.9 1,160.0
Bayankhongo
r
4 25,000.0 53,800.0 272.4 319.8
Gobi-Altai 6 19,000.0 24,600.0 50.3 78.8
Uvs 6 232,350.0 343,072.0 833.6 794.5
Tuv,
Dundgovi
2 60,500.0 60,500.0 42.2 50.0
Bayan-Ulgii 11 513,727.3 636,619.0 748.1 617.9
Khovd 12 138,588.0 147,465.0 196.3 299.8
Zavkhan 19 108,411.0 114,111.0 1,074.0 984.4
TOTAL 63 1,144,826.3 1,485,417.0 3,620.0 4,305.0
Table 10: APUG and AF-based business cooperatives, membership
Name of aimags
Cooperatives
involved in the
assessment
Number of
members
Percentage of male members
2014 2015
2014 2015
Number
percent in
total
Number
percent in
total
Arkhangai 3 1565 1692 1461 93.4 1692 94.5
Bayankhongor 4 510 564 461 90.4 564 91.0
Gobi-Altai 6 278 431 215 77.3 431 80.0
Uvs 6 768 768 610 79.4 768 79.4
Tuv, Dundgovi 2 472 472 438 92.8 472 92.8
Bayan-Ulgii 11 2999 2999 2466 82.2 2999 82.2
Khovd 12 967 1588 829 85.7 1588 87.0
Zavkhan 19 3053 3357 1559 51.1 3357 52.0
Total 63 10612 11871 8039 75.8 11871 82.3
According to the assessment, herder families are registered as members of cooperatives by the
head of the family, hence the percentage of male members is very high. As the table above
demonstrates, the percentage of male members is on average 80 percent and women 20
percent.
Contracted service provisions: Green Gold has been aiming to build the capacity of APUGs
and AFs to provide services on behalf of public and private stakeholders. The initial results have
been achieved in a short period of time.
The Bayankhongor aimag AF received financial support from AVSF Mongolia (a French
international NGO) to implement collective rangeland management as part of the Sustainable
Cashmere Project financed by the EU. The PUG financial approach was up-scaled to an
additional four soums. In order to improve effectiveness, a working group led by soum
governors, and comprised of local land managers, bagh governors, AHBUs, soum
environmental inspectors and meteorological technicians, was established in each of the four
soums. From 2014, the Green Gold PCU has increasingly been mandating local-level

18. 18
coordination and liaison with Green Gold components and local stakeholders. Soum APUGs
and AFs have been provided with training to write proposals for local tendering.
In Gobi-Altai aimag, six soum APUGs were mandated to implement local projects funded by the
soum government and the LDF, as well as the Ministry of Environment and WWF, totalling MNT
29 million for rodent control, animal bathing, the rehabilitation of old wells, the fencing of natural
water springs, and the creation of water reserves in remote rangelands.
Starting from 2014, the Green Gold PCU has mandated local coordination tasks to soum
APUGs and aimag AFs so they can learn the skills needed to provide services and manage
local activities related to marketing, extension and applied research. The workload of two to
three people at AFs has increased, however they have demonstrated a high level of
commitment and have managed to adequately facilitate local activities. Follow-up activities were
carried out by AFs on behalf of Green Gold in the field.
According to AF semi-annual reports, AFs and soum APUGs organised and moderated 160
meetings for herders and PUGs involving 5700 participants (3260 men and 2440 women).
During this period, about 50 events (workshops, trainings, trade fairs and conferences) were
organised with support from Green Gold, with 5400 participants (3100 men and 2300 women).
Table 11: Training provided by soum APUGs and AFs with support from Green Gold
Training topics Partners Participant herder family members
Men Women
Rangeland management trainings C1, C2, C3 and
soum AHBUs, land
managers
ALAGAC, MSUA
1220 800
Herd management trainings C1, C3, soum
AHBUs, private
companies
1000 700
Leadership training for PUG and
APUG leaders
C1 550 120
Soum APUGs capacity development
project
C1, MLSD 100 120
Cooperative assessment and training C1, cooperative
associations
800 550
Two-tier RUAs C1, CPR 250 150
Matchmaking events between
processors and cooperatives
C4 174 92
Extension master training C3 57 30
Training of soum extension
facilitators
C3 50 50
Training of herders‟ advisors C3 500 120
Rodent control MoFA 350 200
RUA training CPR
Baby camel wool and yak wool
combing training
C4 300 100
Hides and skin primary processing C1 110 50
Yarn-making training C4 45
Sewing training C4 40
Dairy processing training C1, soum AHBUs 50
Women herders‟ workshop C1 730
Soum herders‟ workshop C1 550 400
Herders Matching Fund improvement
training
C1 350 400
Total 6360 4740

19. 19
Establishment of a National Union of PUGs to improve lobbying and the representation
of the interests of the herding community at the national level. The establishment of a
National Union of PUGs as a part of a sustainability plan has long been discussed among
herders and PUG and APUG leaders. This intensified with the adoption of fiscal decentralisation
legislation and the creation of LDFs at the soum level. In the context of Mongolia, where herders
on average comprise 80 percent of the soum population, the reflection of their interests in the
allocation of LDFs became an issue in the first year. In 2013/2014, the majority of LDFs were
spent on projects suggested by citizens living in the soum centre, such as the building of
playgrounds for children, streetlights, public showers and gardens, and the construction of new
offices for the soum government. According to Green Gold internal monitoring, the main reason
for this was a lack of awareness among herders about the LDF and herders not being informed
in advance about the LDF.
In February 2015, PUG, APUG and AF leaders and representatives from 69 soums gathered in
Ulaanbaatar and established a National Union of PUGs. The main purpose of the National
Union of PUGs is to have herders‟ interests reflected in national policy, as well as providing a
vehicle with which to represent and lobby for those interests. Since its establishment, the
National Union of PUGs has embarked on three projects: A pilot project in cooperation with the
MoFA to test local indigenious technology aimed at eradicating rodents; facilitating meetings at
the parliamentary level to improve the legal environment for herders‟ user rights on traditional
rangelands; and promoting the formalisation of RUAs between PUGs and local governments.
Since its establishment, in addition to seven western aimags, herders from five soums in
Uvurkhangai and Khentii aimags have joned the National Union.
Establishment of Herders’ Training and Information Centres: This year, Green Gold
provided support to 12 Soum APUGs to establish Herders‟ Training and Information Centres.
The centres are also used as APUG and cooperative offices. The arrangement was made in
accordance with Green Gold‟s C3 component that C1 components support the construction of
the centre and C3 supports the centre‟s operations and provides basic training equipment and
tools. Each of the centres receives on average MNT 1.3 million from C3. PUG and APUG
networks and leaders are increasingly acting as information agents for the herding community.
However, there is still a need to make good use of Herders‟ Training and Information Centres.
Table 12: Newly established Herders‟ Training and Information Centres
Aimags Soums Total cost
„000 MNT
Of which „000 MNT
GG Herders Local
government/other
sources
Arkhangai Chuluut (done) 23,000 18,000 5000 1000
Undur Ulaan (done) 24,000 18,000 5000 1000
Bayankhong
or
Bogd (in progress) 25,000 20,000 5000 0
Gobi-Altai Taishir (in progress) 26,550 20,000 5000 1550
Darvi (in progress) 26,200 20,000 5000 1200
Tugrug (in progress) 20,000 20,000 5000 1200
Jargalan (in progress) 20,000 20,000 5000 1200
Uvs Umnugovi (in progress) 21,000 21,000 5000 1000
Turgen (in progress) 21,000 21,000 5000 1000
Undurkhangai (in
progress)
21,000 21,000 5000 1000

20. 20
Ulgi (in progress) 21,000 21,000 5000 1000
Khovd Bulgan (done) 20,000 20,000 5000 2000
Output 1.3 Changes in market volume and turnover of livestock products in cooperatives
With increasing membership and the market volume of products, cooperatives‟ turnover is also
on the rise. There have been two big waves of cooperative development in the past three years:
The introduction of a government subsidy scheme to channel sheep wool, skins/hides and
camel wool through cooperatives to herders, and soft loans for livestock processing companies
from the Chinggis Bond to support technical change and working capital. In order to create
stable business operations and ensure the quality of raw materials from herders, a growing
number of companies are interested in developing working relationships and entering into
contracts with cooperatives.
Table 13: Contracts established by APUG-based cooperatives in 2015 (short and long term)
Aimags Long and
short-term
marketing
contracts
Contracted
sales volume
(mln MNT)
Number of job
places created
full and part-time
(M/F)
Arkhangai 6 1,210.0 35/45
Bayankhongor 7 319.8 6/2
Gobi-Altai 6 78.8 43/33
Khovd 4 794.5 11/2
Uvs 3 617.9 15/18
Zavkhan 29 299.8 107/14
Bayan-Ulgii 10 984.4 8/9
Total 65
4,305.0
225 Male
123 Female
A secondary marketing cooperative set up at the Aimag Federation of APUGs has entered into
supply contracts with the following processing companies: Bayalag Ulzii (yak wool), Uguuj Shim
(yak wool), Darhan Nekhii (skins and hides), Erdenet Khivs (sheep wool), Mogol (sheep wool)
and Darkhan Foods (meat). Bayankhongor aimag cooperatives organised herders‟ participation
in border trading in China and sold camel dairy products worth MNT 12.7 million. This year, the
Arkhangai aimag AF entered into contracts with several wool-processing companies to supply
wool from herders and the World Bank Marketing Project. The total sum of the contracted work
was MNT 60 million.

21. 21
During the recent Green Gold-mandated cooperative assessment, it was found that herders
were also willing to increase their share in cooperatives. For example, in several soums in Gobi-
Altai, Arkhangai and Zavkhan aimags, members agreed to increase their contributions up to
MNT 100,000 per member in order to generate working capital.
APUG and AF-based cooperatives developing new businesses: In addition to engaging in
livestock raw material sales, Green Gold encourages APUG-based cooperatives to engage in
local value-adding and primary processing businesses and in non-livestock product businesses
such as growing fruit trees, planting potatoes and vegetables, and running shops and hotels.
Based on a request from the AF in Arkhangai aimag, a Yak Festival was organised as an
educational and tourist event. The main aim for Green Gold was to provide support for the AF
and PUGs to gain experience and learn the skills needed to independently organise next year‟s
festival as a tourism event and a possible source of income. According to a CBA analysis, in
order to organise a Yak Festival for 1500-2000 visitors, there is a direct cost of about MNT 12.0
million As well as selling tickets to tourism companies, herders and soum APUGs can also earn
income from the sale of dairy products to tourists and running a small eating establishment on
site. This year, the total income generated for local herders and PUGs was MNT 15 million.
Next year, the Arkhangai AF will participate in the Tourism Fair 2016 and will sell tickets to local
tour operators to visit the Yak Festival.
Table 14: New business initiatives supported by Green Gold for APUG-based cooperatives
Non-livestock
businesses
Aimags Cooperatives Number of
employees
(part and full-time)
Annual income
(„000 MNT)
Yak festival Arkhangai All cooperatives 10/10 5500
Fruit tree
planting
Bayankhongor Bayangobi 2 F/T
6 P/T
3000
Construction
concrete
Bayankhongor Gurvanbulag 5 P/T 3000
Potato and
vegetable
growing
Bayankhongor Bayanlig 5 P/T 3000
Felt-making Gobi-Altai Taishir 12 P/T 5000
Felt-making,
sheep wool
washing
Gob Altai Erdeme 8/1 5000
Forage and hay-
making
Potato and
vegetable
planting
Gobi-Altai Khaliun 12/12 4400
Bio char coal
processing
Bayan-Ulgii Altai, Buga,
Bayannuur,
Buyan, Tolbo,
Deluun,
Ulaankhus,
Tsengel
30/12 Not available
Livestock sales
market
Uvs Second-level
cooperative
In progress
Livestock sales
market
Khovd Second-level
cooperative
In progress
Yoghurt-making
for school
Zavkhan Erdenekhairkhan 3 females 5000

22. 22
lunches
Camel wool marketing: The market for camel wool has not improved, which has been
reflected in sales prices. This year, Gobi-Altai and Bayankhongor AFs in cooperation with the
marketing component of Green Gold organised the combing of baby camel wool (1250 tonnes
raw). Sample raw materials were processed at several processing companies and the results
were very good. According to the companies, baby camel wool micron and length is higher than
the current best-quality cashmere. The average micron of combed baby camel wool is 15 mkm,
with an average length of 41mm; the average cashmere micron is currently 16.5 mkm with a
length of 38mm. Two local processing companies were involved in different stages of
processing, from washing to final production. According to industry experts, camel wool is
suitable for both knitted and woven products.
Output 1.4: Women’s increased participation in the PUG system
The participation of women herders in bagh citizens’ meetings is increasing: According to
soum government officials, women‟s participation in bagh citizens‟ meetings has increased in the
past two years since women herders‟ annual meetings were made a regular event. In order to
encourage women to participate in PUG activities, Green Gold has been supporting soum
APUGs to organise annual meetings of women herders since 2013. In up to 30 soums of the 126
target soums, this has become a regular event. On average, 70-100 women per soum attend
annual meetings. In the early years, these meetings were moderated by Green Gold staff or
APUG leaders, with the main focus being rangeland management issues. The events have since
expanded and become a platform for herder women to discuss a range of issues, and have
become an important social gathering for women to meet and network.
As Green Gold nears completion in 2016, we are working to make it sustainable in the future.
About 30 soum governments have begun co-sponsoring the events.
Gender analysis in herding households: Green Gold facilitated a gender analysis of herding
households from November 2014 to June 2015. About 300 men and women from herding
households and 70 herders‟ sons and daughters participated in the survey from eight soums
across Mongolia: Taishir (Gobi-Altai), Most (Khovd), Umnugovi (Uvs), Bayannur (Bayan-Ulgii),
Tsagaanchuluut (Zavkhan), Mandal (Selenge), Undurshireet (Tuv) and Ulziyt (Dundgovi).
Different aspects of herding household life were examined: The division of labour, decision-
making, access/control of resources/benefits, participation in community activities, and child-
related issues.

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The main findings of the research are summarised as follows:
 Workload sharing varies seasonally throughout a year, however women‟s workload is
greater than men‟s. The total working hours of women spent on productive, reproductive
and main community activities is higher than men‟s for the majority of the year.
 Women‟s working hours and their workload for reproductive activities was three to four
times higher than that of men.
 50.1 percent of respondents said most of the decisions about livestock production (such
as otor movements, seasonal grazing movements, involvement in pastureland
management plans and herd management) were made by men; only 23.2 percent said
wives were involved in decision-making processes.
 Although both men and women work hard to earn income for their families‟ livelihoods,
there are imbalances in relation to the use of and the benefits derived from family income.
In relation to decision-making on how to spend family income, women are involved in the
evaluation process but final decisions are taken by men. In relation to household money
management, men are slightly predominant, although women‟s involvement is quite high
(63 percent said the husband decides, and 58.5 percent said wives were involved).
 Most herder household property (58.5 percent), including livestock, winter/spring camps,
motorcycle and other vehicles, is registered in the name of husbands.
 Survey respondents said women‟s limited involvement in community activities was the
result of the difficulty they faced in delegating household tasks (33.2 percent) and
delegating to others the care of children and the elderly.
 In relation to the choice of a leader, the preference for men is quite pronounced (for
PUGs, 38.7 percent). For cooperatives, 40.7 percent said they they had no gender
preference as long as the person chosen was able to carry out their duties effectively.
Only 12.6-16 percent of respondents said they would choose women as PUG/cooperative
leaders.
 Gender differences among sons and daughters in relation to education and their future
were particularly evident in relation to school dropouts, with parents preferring to take
their sons out of school rather than their daughters.
 There is a direct correlation between poor livelihood households and children's tendency
to pursue higher education after secondary school. School dropouts increase when
households lack a workforce and the income needed to hire an assistant herder. Parents
often need to keep one of their sons at home to work so their other children, mainly
daughters, will have the opportunity to study.
Promotion of women in income-generation opportunities: One of the cross-cutting themes
within all Green Gold components is the promotion of income-generation opportunities for women
in herding households.
- Based on the successful experience of Herders‟ Matching Funds, Green Gold
appropriated MNT 35 million to create a Community Fund for Women. The fund will
operate under the same principles as the Herders‟ Matching Funds, in which member
contributes MNT 15,000-20,000 with Green Gold contributing the same amount. The fund
will primarily be used to support women in engaging in income-generation activities for
the family, to sponsor women‟s events within PUGs and cooperatives, and to provide
small loans to women in emergency situations.
- Through the extension component, herder women were contracted to sew 300
“information bags” for herders for MNT 6000 each.
- Up to five small income-generation projects were implemented by the extension and
marketing components.

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Lessons learned and implications:
 Given the growing role of aimag AFs in the local coordination of four Green Gold
components as well as coordination with local governments and herders, the workload of
AF personnel (three people) has significantly increased this year. In addition, AF heads
are also engaged in the collection of raw materials from herder familes and organising
transfers and sales to processing companies in Ulaanbaatar, and the disribution of
payments to herder families. PUGs and APUGs/cooperatives and AFs/cooperatives fill
the gaps in the outreach system to nomadic herder households that existed under the
Soviet system.
 Ensuring the participation of herder families in collective rangeland management and
increasing their responsibillity remains a challenge. The habit of grazing freely and the
free use of rangeland resources for more than 20 years is a deep-seated mindset among
herders.
 Faciltating close cooperation between PUGs, APUGs and aimag land departments,
soum land managers, AHBU staff and metererolgical technicians has improved the
enforcement of RUAs and the planning and implementation of annual soum rangeland-
use plans.
 Following the release of the National Rangeland Health Report and the introduction of
two-tier RUAs with more specific conditions on maintaining rangeland health (ESD/STM)
and stocking rates, more time is required for training and facilitation from the PCU. The
results may not be fully achieved during Green Gold‟s remaining time period.
 Given the late issuing of the regulation for the LDF and that it was not well
communicated, there are few soums in which 30 percent of the LDF (in accordance with
the regulation) was spent on rangeland and environmental management projects. Most
of the projects funded emanated from soum centre organisations and residents. This is
because the majority of the members of Soum Citizens‟ Meetings reside in the soum
centre. Therefore, voting tends to favour projects around the soum centre. Another
reason is that after many of years budget deficit, the LDF was largely used to cover
pending investments. However, there is still the issue of prioritisation. For example, in
Ugiinuur soum in Arkhangai aimag, the governor said that although one of major
problems in the soum was rodent control, he was unable to muster support from Soum
Citizens‟ Meeting members to allocate funding to combat the problem; instead, members
opted to build a children‟s playground in the soum centre.
 Each year, Green Gold financial support is delayed and released in April. This means
complementary funding from Green Gold for project proposals submitted by PUGs, HGs
and cooperatives and those included in the Annual Plan of Operations are postponed. In
the past two years, projects related to planting forage, expanding grazing areas and
increasing access to water had to be delayed, necessitating the reworking of plans by
PUG and APUG leaders.
 The leadership of PUGs and APUGs is crucial for the successful implementation of
collective rangeland management and cooperative development. Herders‟ trust in
leaders can help to resolve many issues.
 Organising training for PUG leaders in Zavkhan aimag by the aimag AF proved to be a
good initiative. A total of 240 PUG leaders took part in the training, which resulted in the
development of recommendations for the aimag governor on improved rangeland
management policy, which was personally submitted to the governor.
 In order to improve the monitoring and control of PUG Herders‟ Matching Funds (HMF),
Green Gold is undertaking an assessment at each soum HMFs and made an
arrangement with Khaan Bank to make all transcations via the Bank. The assessment
results will be ready by March 2016.
 Government policy on cooperative development is inconsistent, and the ad-hoc
distribution of subsidies and unfulfilled promises is negatively shaping herders‟

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perceptions. This year, many herder families did not receive price caps on sheep wool
because of registration errors in the AHBUs. Many PUGs and APUGs delivered letters to
the MoFA about this issue.
 Pronounced political partisanship is reflected at the local level and is fueling tensions
among herders from different parties.
 According to feedback from herders on the issue of mining, they are not completely
opposed to mining operations in their soums. The main issue for herders is being
informed in advance and being able to take part in the processes. If there are negative
consequences for the environment and rangelands, a joint solution needed to be sought.
Outcome 2: Applied agricultural research that produces results for practitioners: Science-based
understanding of range-management issues enhances the scope for sustainable range
management at all levels
Output 2.1 Human and institutional capacity is created within relevant ministries that
enables: i) Improved data management; ii) The use of ecological site
description-related concepts to interpret monitoring data; and iii) Serves by
consistent products on regional and national dynamics.
Output 2.2 The ESD concepts, documents, map products and extension materials are
jointly produced with the target soums to be used by PUGs/soums. They will
serve as a foundation for the spatial expansion of ESD development.
Output 2.3 New technologies for forage production with annuals and perennials and for
pasture rehabilitation are developed and demonstrated in experiments for the
new ecological conditions of the target areas of Green Gold IV, are tested with
PUGs and transferred to extension services for further up-scaling.
Output 2.4 The human and institutional capacities for the interpretation of existing data and
the independent adaptation of rangeland management and forage production to
present and future challenges are developed.
Output 2.1: Human and institutional capacity is created within relevant ministries that
enables: i) Improved data management; ii) The use of ecological site description-related
concepts to interpret monitoring data; and iii) Serves by consistent products on regional
and national dynamics.
The National Rangeland Health Report is presented to the Government of Mongolia.
Based on successful collaboration with NAMEM in previous phases of Green Gold with such
achievements as:
1. Resolution 114 of the Ministry of Environment and Green Development issued on 20
April, 2011, pertains to the adoption of one methodology nationwide for rangeland health
monitoring.
2. Regional trainings were carried out for 450 soum technicians on the basic skills of data
collection, as well as the provision of tools, in conjunction with SDC‟s Coping with
Desertification Project and UNDP‟s Sustainable Land Management Project.
3. A national rangeland monitoring database has been set up at NAMEM on which is
stored four years of data (2011-2014) from 1550 plots throughout Mongolia.

26. 26
With support from the USDA team and rangeland inventory data collected from more than 600
plots, we developed concepts for ecological potential and the recovery of Mongolian rangelands
with the aim of providing consistent information about potential recovery options, which is
essential for translating assessment into management actions that improve land conditions and
human livelihoods. These are as follows:
1. A five-level classification of recovery potential called “recovery classes” based on
common patterns of rangeland dynamics observed worldwide.
While the logic underpinning the application of these classifications to particular land areas is
science-based, it must be recognised that in Mongolia they represest testable hypotheses that
can be either verified or disproved through management actions and monitoring.
2. Twenty-two ecological site groups based on the soil, climatic and landscape features of
common rangeland types in Mongolia. These serve as a basic tool for the planning,
enforcing and monitoring of rangeland management and restoration programme
activities.
3. State and transition models are developed for the most common rangeland community
shifts, state transitions and related triggers, and restoration pathways that enable
NAMEM engineers to deliver annual rangeland health assessments to the public.
Based on these concepts and NAMEM monitoring data from the 1550 plots, the National Report
on Rangeland Health was completed and presented to the government. Findings included:
- At present, 65 percent of Mongolia‟s rangelands have been altered to a certain extent.
- Most rangeland areas can recover by changing the existing management approach.
- The belief that irreversible degradation was spreading from southern Mongolia was not
supported by the analysis. However, as our data suggests, aimags in forest steppe and
steppe regions in central Mongolia face serious degradation problems.
Output 2.2: ESD concepts, documents, map products and extension materials are
produced jointly with the target soums to be used by PUGs/soums. They will serve as a
foundation for the spatial expansion of ESD development.
The ALAGAC management board approved the resilience-based rangeland management
approach for planning and management-impact monitoring, and decided to pilot the approach in
15 soums and one aimag. Rangeland management activities should be based on scientifically
proven evidence and involve participation from land users. In order to provide land users and
managers at all levels with the knowledge and tools needed to undertake rangeland
management planning, the STMs for Mongolian rangeland communities have been simplified
into user-friendly photo catalogues (Figure 1).
The application of ESDs, including STMs as a roadmap for soum land-management planning,
rangeland state mapping and management-impact monitoring, were tested in four soums in
2013/2014 (Undurshireet soum, Tuv aimag, Chandmani soum, Khovd aimag, Ikh Tamir soum,
Arkhangai aimag, and Bulgan soum, Dornod aimag), representing the country‟s main ecological
regions: Forest steppe, steppe and desert steppe. Based on the results of this testing, the
ALAGAC management board decided to update soum land-management planning and
management-impact monitoring manuals so that ESD information formed the basis for future
planning and monitoring (Figure 1).

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Figure 1: A photo catalogue for Mongolian rangeland communities in different ecological regions provides
images of key indicator species and expected productivity, as well as information on carrying capacity
and the appropriate utilisation of management recommendations
Figure 2: ESD-based soum land-management planning and photo-monitoring approaches were
approved by ALAGAC
In relation to up-scaling the resilience-based rangeland management approach:
1. The resilience-based rangeland management (RBRM) approach is introduced in 15 pilot
soums representing different ecological zones and throughout Arkhangai aimag.
ALAGAC seeks to improve the Soum Annual Land Management Planning process by:
- Providing clear criteria for identifying healthy and degraded areas
- Using ESDs and maps of rangeland conditions to specify where grazing can be usefully
deferred or pastures rested, and estimating the appropriate timing of grazing and
recommended adjustments to stocking rates
- Adjusting management to specific areas based on differences among ecological site
groups and rangeland health
- Focusing management on rangeland health as well as animal herds
- Linking monitoring to expectations about pasture use and the maintenance or
improvement of rangeland health, based on specific indicators
- Encouraging the participation of all stakeholders, including herders and local
government officials, in selecting preferred management options and updating plans
2. ALAGAC and MULS signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in the
capacity development of soum land managers; a land-management planning laboratory

28. 28
was also set up (Figure 3). The laboratory is equipped with high-speed computers and
GIS programs and has the potential to conduct training for 25 people
Figure 3: With Green Gold support, a laboratory for land-management planning is set up at MULS
3. The first training on the RBRM approach is conducted for 50 land managers from 30 soums
а) ALAGAC Director A. Khurelshagai opened the
training
б) A total of 63 land managers took part in RBRM
training, of whom 41 percent were women
b) Land managers are given textbooks, manuals and
handouts on RBRM concepts and its application for
planning and monitoring
г) Land managers are given basic tools for photo-
monitoring

29. 29
Output 2.4: The human and institutional capacities for the interpretation of existing data
and the independent adaptation of rangeland management and forage production to
present and future challenges are developed.
Improvement of rangeland and herd-management training programme at MSUA
As one of Mongolia‟s leading universities training rangeland and herd management specialists,
MSUA has launched a rangeland and herd-management training programme, which includes:
1. Updating the curriculum and rangeland and herd-management course syllabuses.
As a result of the collaboration between MULS professors, graduates and agencies involved in
the agricultural and natural resource management sectors, the rangeland management and
animal nutrition syllabuses were updated and approved in 2014.
2. Improvement of rangeland and herd management training materials:
- The translation of such internationally recognised textbooks as Jerry Holechek‟s
“Rangeland Management Principles and Practices” was completed and published.
Richard O. Kellems and David C. Church‟s “Livestock Feeds and Feeding” textbook is
also being published.
Capacity building programme for young researchers
Programmes oriented towards building the capacity of young researchers in the field of pasture
ecology have been implemented through a “Young Researchers‟ Club” at NUM. The purpose of
the club is to provide young researchers with opportunities (1) To exchange experiences, new
ideas and innovations; (2) To coordinate studies among themselves; and (3) To improve their
knowledge and capacity. Club activity is continuing independently since Green Gold ended its
financial support and is focused on the following:
- Information sharing via social media
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/160219437472585/)
- National and international scientists and specialists in the field Stuard Pimm, Li Alan
Dugatkin and Chuluun published articles and were invited to give talks (Figure 8)
Figure 8: Lectures by internationally recognised scientists play a key role in providing young
researchers with modern principles and best practices in rangeland ecology and natural
resource management.

30. 30
Students are conducting field research on the impact of climate change via simulation studies
and rangeland productivity dynamics at experimental sites in Ikh Tamir soum in Arkhangai
aimag, which is then passed on to NUM
Updating the rangeland management curriculum at MULS
As a result of the collaboration between MULS, alumni students working in the rangeland
management sector and the government agency responsible for land management and
monitoring, the “rangeland management” and “animal nutrition” course syllabuses were updated
and in use from this academic year. In addition, such internationally recognised textbooks as
Jerry Holechek‟s “Principles and Practices in Rangeland Management” and Richard O. Kellems
and David C. Church‟s “Animal Nutrition” were translated into Mongolian as student reference
material.
Outcome 3: Demand-driven extension service system for herders (f/m) is set up.
Output 3.1 The capacity of the extension service system is strenghtened.
Output 3.2 Content: Herders are provided via the PUG system with relevant and tested
extension messages (f/m).
Output 3.3 Dissemination: Application of sustainable livestock herding practices is
increased.
Output 3.4 Entrepreneurship of herders is improved.
Outcome indicator 3.1: Perception of usefulness of extension services by herders
The SDC baseline monitoring report 2013 and annual monitoring report 2015 by IMRI confirmed
that the share of herders in Green Gold areas that perceive extension services as useful
increased from 11.2% in July 2013 to 51.6% in July 2015. This equals a 461% increase rate in
positive perception of extension services within 21 months of implementation of the Extension
component of the Green Gold project.
Outcome indicator 3.2: Public funds allocated for extension services in the project
intervention areas
The pilot intervention and capacity building activities of C3 are resulting in increased awareness
of the usefulness of extension services not only among herders but also among local decision
makers. Funds allocated by aimag governments in the intervention areas for extension services
reached 85 million MNT in 2015, compared to MNT 65 million in 2013.
Outcome indicator 3.3: Funds spent on delivery of extension services by APUG-based
herder cooperatives
With initial support and stimulation by C3, APUG-based herder cooperatives have started
providing extension services with substantial potential of sustaining without further support from
the project. As an economic activity to boost profitability as well as a social activity to strengthen
membership base, extension service delivery has been increasingly integrated into regular
operation of the cooperatives. Internal funds spent by the cooperatives on delivery of extension
services in 2015 were MNT 14 million, compared to MNT 8 million in 2013.

31. 31
Output 3.1: The capacity of the extension service system is strenghtened.
Output indicator 3.1.1: Improved collaboration of MULS and NAEC
C3 is facilitating a new cooperation agreement between NAEC and MULS, which shall be
followed by a collaborative project for establishment of a distance-learning system targeting an
estimated 1500 agricultural specialists and extension staff at DFAs and AHBUs countrywide.
Conclusion of the cooperation agreement and the start of the collaborative project are expected
in September 2016.
Output indicator 3.1.2: Number of students learning extension methods at MULS
Stimulated through collaboration with C3, MULS replaced the undergraduate course “Extension
service“, which was only elected by 42 students in 2013 and 36 students in 2014, with a new
course titled “Communication and Innovation”. The course will be launched in the academic
year 2015/2016 starting in September 2015.
C3 organised two workshops with representatives of the administration and schools of MULS on
curriculum and syllabus development of the “Communication and Innovation” course. The first
workshop in January 2015 with 15 participants (7F/8M) was a full-day event, and resulted in an
initial curriculum and a work group to prepare the syllabus. At the second workshop with 7
participants (7f/10m) for 2 days in June 2015, the syllabus and curriculum of the course were
finalised, core modules were prepared, and specific contents and delivery methods were planned
for each school.
Output indicator 3.1.3: Number of aimags with qualified Master Trainers (f/m=30/70)
As of 31 July 2015, 17 Master Trainers (4f/13m) at AFPUGs and DFAs in 7 target aimags of C3
(Arkhangai, Bayankhongor, Bayan-Ulgii, Gobi-Altai, Khovd, Uws and Zavkhan) have been
trained and are engaging in planning, coordination and monitoring of demand-driven extension
services piloted for improving rangeland management, herd management, animal health and
nutrition, and entrepreneurship of herders and herder cooperatives in the intervention areas.
The following three events were organised by C3 for training of master trainers:
 Refresher training of master trainers in October 2014 (2 days)
 Training of master trainers in March 2015 (4 days)
 Refresher training of master trainers in June 2015 (3 days)
The refresher training in October 2014 was attended by 7 MTs (2f/5m) in Khovd, Uws and
Bayan-Ulgii aimags, who had been initially trained in March 2014. The training strengthened the
knowledge and skills of the MTs to design and coordinate demand-driven extension services for
herders. Specific outputs included work plans for local-level training and exchange activities in
the period October to December 2014, and for intensifying collaboration between AFPUGs and
DIAs at the aimag level, and between APUGs and AHBUs at the soum level.
The ToMT in March 2015 was attended by 10 persons (2f/8m), including extension officers of
AFPUGs and livestock/rangeland specialists of DFAs in Arkhangai, Bayankhongor, Gobi-Altai
and Zavkhan aimags, which have been targeted by C3 since January 2015, in addition to
extension officers of AFPUGs in Khovd and Uws, at which the Executive Directors have been
trained as Master Trainers in 2014. Specific outputs of the training included a gender
mainstreaming plan, design of a herder feedback mechanism and a participatory M&E
framework.
The refresher training in June 2015 was attended by 11 MTs (3f/8m) from AFPUGs in 7 target
aimags, and DFAs in 4 aimags (Arkhangai, Bayankhongor, Khovd and Uws). The training
resulted in improved communication, facilitation and leadership skills of the MTs and increased
their ability to communicate sustainable rangeland management and livestock herding practices
to local stakeholders and herders. In addition, 7 MTs (3f/4m) were trained in facilitation of

32. 32
community participation and leadership, and entrepreneurship of herder women. Specific
outputs included work plans for local-level training and exchange activities in the period October
to December 2014, including training herder women in 37 soums, and a plan for intensifying the
operation of Herder Service Centres.
Output indicator 3.1.4: Percentage of GG soums with a team of trained Extension
Facilitators (f/m=30/70)
As of 31 July 2015, 126 Extension Facilitators (36f/90m) at APUGs and AHBUs in 63 pilot
soums in 7 target aimags of C3 have been trained and are engaging in coordination and
delivery of demand-driven extension services piloted for improving rangeland management,
herd management, animal health and nutrition, and entrepreneurship of herders and herder
cooperatives in the intervention areas.
The following events were organised by C3 for training of facilitators:
 Refresher training of facilitators in September 2014 (2 days)
 Training of facilitators in April 2015 (3 days)
 Workshop on preparation of business plans of herder cooperatives in November 2014 (3
days)
 Training on participatory video in March 2015 (4 days)
 Refresher training on participatory video in July 2015 (4 days)
The refresher training in September 2014 was organised in Ulaangom and Khovd, and attended
by 52 facilitators (13f/39m) from 26 soums in Khovd, Uws and Bayan-Ulgii aimags, who had
been initially trained in April 2014. The training strengthened the knowledge and skills of the
participants to deliver demand-driven extension services to herders. Specific outputs of the
training included assessment of local-level training and exchange activities in the period May to
September 2014 and a detailed work plan for the period October to December 2014.
The ToF in April 2015 was attended by 74 persons (23f/51m), including heads of AFPUGs and
livestock/rangeland specialists of AHBUs in 37 new pilot soums of C3 in 7 target aimags.
Specific outputs of the training included a detailed plan for activities to facilitate herder learning
and engagement at soum-, PUG- and khot ail-levels, and a plan of participatory monitoring of
extension methods and contents in relation to herders‟ demands.
The workshop on preparation of business plans was organised in Ulgii in November 2015, and
attended by 11 persons (3f/8m), including 10 APUG leaders in Bayan-Ulgii, Khovd and Uws
aimags, who lead herder cooperatives at the same time, in addition to the extension officer of the
AFPUG in Uws aimag. The participants drafted business plans for their cooperatives for the
period 2015 to 2019, and the drafts were finalised by the C3 consultant who facilitated the
workshop.
Ten facilitators (4f/6m) from 5 pilot soums (Tsetseg, Must and Darvi soums in Khovd aimag, and
Tolbo and Buyant soums in Bayan-Ulgii aimag) were trained in preparation and use of
participatory video to support herders‟ communication and exchange through training
workshops in Khovd in March and July 2015. Each team was provided with cameras and tripods
by C3.
Output indicator 3.1.5: Percentage of GG soums with APUG-based units for information
dissemination and herder learning and exchange
Based on the establishment of Herder Training and Information Centres with APUG-offices by
GG C1, C3 is introducing the concept of "Herder Service Centre (HSC)" in the intervention
areas. As of 31 July 2015, HSCs in 55 pilot soums, out of 125 target soums of GG, are in
operation. C3 supplied each HSC with information materials and media, and equipment for
training and photo-point monitoring of rangelands. C3 also provides methodical guidance to
APUGs for effective operation of HSCs.

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The HSCs are based on herders' participation, operated by APUGs in collaboration with
AHBUs, and serve to herders as: 1) a learning and exchange hub, 2) a social space to interact
with different stakeholders and services and 3) a shop to provide products and/or services they
need; whereas the level of intensity of each of these functions varies in different soums.
Output indicator 3.1.6: Percentage of APUGs with extension cooperation agreements
with AHBUs
As of 31 July 2015, APUGs and AHBUs in all 63 pilot soums of C3 have extension cooperation
agreements for the period May 2015 to December 2016.
Output 3.2: Content: Herders are provided via the PUG system with relevant and tested
extension messages (f/m).
Output indicator 3.2.1: Percentage of PUG members (f/m=30/70) receiving extension
messages via mass media
In the period of reporting, 10,000 PUG-member herder households in Khovd, Uws and Bayan-
Ulgii aimags were reached with information and extension messages through two issues of the
newsletter "Malch ukhaan" (“Herders‟ wisdom”). The outreach rate was 31% of all PUG-
members.
The 2/2014 issue of the newsletter was published in October 2014 and the 1/2015 issue in
January 2015. Both issues were distributed in 3000 copies in Mongolian and 2000 copies in
Kazakh language per issue. On average, each copy is read by two herder households in the
same khot-ail.
Output indicator 3.2.2: Percentage of PUG members (f/m=30/70) receiving extension
messages via printed and audio-visual media
Through printed and audio-visual media, 8000 herder households in 7 target aimags, equalling
25% of PUG-members, received extension messages in the period of reporting.
The following media were used:
 Manuals - reached 8000 herder households:
o “Herder of the XXI century” manual, published by NAEC in original version in 2011 and
updated in May 2015 - 9 modules covering rangeland management, livestock
management, animal breeding, animal health, herder entrepreneurship and herder
cooperative development;
o Manual on “Diagnosis, prevention and treatment of the brucellosis”, published by AHP in
April 2014;
o Manual on “Animal health”, published by AHP in April 2015;
 Wall calendar, published by C3 in June 2015, with extension messages contributed by
Green Gold C1, C2 and C4, AHP, IBLIP, NAEC and MULS – published in 5000 copies,
reaching 5000 herders;
 Training videos, prepared by C3 between May 2014 and June 2015, on: haymaking, forage
cropping, wool processing, and diagnosis, prevention and treatment of brucellosis, ganders
and contagious agalactia – published in 150 copies per each and reached 1500 herders.
These media are distributed to herders through PUG-leaders trained as herder advisors. In
June 2015, C3 introduced a system of distributing manuals and training videos to herders and
receiving their feedback using “circulating information bags”. In May and June 2015, 400
information bags were distributed to 400 PUGs in 63 pilot soums of 7 target aimags. The
information bags reached 8000 herder households by 31 July 2015, and the expected level of
coverage by the end of 2015 is 40 herders per bag or 16,000 herder households.

34. 34
Output indicator 3.2.3: Percentage of PUG members (f/m=30/70) engaging in field-based
learning and herder-to-herder exchange
In the period of reporting, 5000 PUG-members participated in field-based training and exchange
meetings at PUG and soum levels.
Field-based training of herders is linked to innovation pilots conducted by PUGs with partial
support from the project for demonstrating sustainable rangeland and livestock management
approaches and solutions to increase the herders‟ incomes. In 2014, innovation pilots on forage
cropping, haymaking, lamb feeding, wool and milk processing, supplementary feeding were
implemented in 17 soums of Khovd, Uws and Bayan-Ulgii aimags. Field days to disseminate the
practices demonstrated were attended by 250 herders during the period September to
December 2014. In 2015, innovation pilots are being implemented in 32 soums of 7 target
aimags. Between January and July 2015, the pilots were visited by an estimated 3000 herders,
either through field days or exchange visits of PUGs.
Herder exchange meetings at PUG and soum levels take place in spring and autumn. In
October to November 2014, exchange meetings were facilitated at 265 PUGs in 26 pilot soums,
and attended by 2500 herders. In the period June-July 2015, PUG-level exchange meetings
were facilitated by herder advisors at 300 PUGs in 7 target aimags, and attended by an
estimated 5000 herders.
Output 3.3: Dissemination: Application of sustainable livestock herding practices is
increased.
Output indicator 3.3.1: Number of PUGs adopted practices for improving carrying
capacity of rangelands
Number of PUGs that adopted technologies for improving carrying capacity of rangelands such
as irrigation and bio-fertilisation increased from 8 in 2013 to 12 by 31 July 2015.
Output indicator 3.3.2: Percentage of GG soums with improved off-take intensity of non-
productive animals
Balanced off-take of male animals older than 3 years and barren female animals is a priority of
C3 pilot intervention as this has both short-term benefits to herders and long-term effects on the
sustainability of rangeland management. In the period of reporting, off-take of such non-
productive animals were increased in 11 GG soums, compared to the 2013 level.
Output indicator 3.3.3: Percentage of PUGs with improved animal breeds
For increasing animal productivity, especially in wool and meat, AFPUGs in 6 aimags, in
collaboration with DFAs and AHBUs, facilitated breeding of 12,000 dams at 34 PUGs with sires
of superior breeds such as Bayad, Sutai and Sartuul rams, and Altain Ulaan bucks in
September to October 2014.
Output indicator 3.3.4: Percentage of PUGs with increased intensity of supplementary
feeding in winter and spring
Hay and forage reserves for the winter 2014/2015 were increased at 36 PUGs by at least 15%
compared to 2013, reaching up to 50 tons per PUG, thus enabling increased supplementary
feeding in winter.
Output indicator 3.3.5: Percentage of PUG members contracted local vets
Twenty-one thousand herder households with PUG-membership have veterinary service
contracts with local vets as of 31 July 2015. This presents a 117% increase compared to 2013.
Output 3.4: Entrepreneurship of herders is improved.

35. 35
Output indicator 3.4.1: Percentage of PUG members (f/m=50/50) keeping household
records
Household record keeping sheets as decision-making tools, especially for herd optimization, are
being piloted by 500 herder households presenting 1.5% of all PUG-members. The number of
herder households involved in this pilot is expected to reach 1600 by the end of 2015.
Output indicator 3.4.2: Percentage of APUG-based cooperatives generating
supplementary income for herders (f/m=30/70)
Through C3 innovation pilots aiming to stimulate herders' business development, 10 APUG-
based herder cooperatives out of 60 cooperatives in 7 target aimags are generating
supplementary incomes for herders. The income-generating activities include: wool and milk
processing, animal breeding, biochar production, fodder and vegetable cropping, sea buckthorn
growing, meat storage and marketing, sewing and herders' shops.
Output indicator 3.4.3: Number of herder women engaging in collective processing of
animal products
118 herder women in 5 aimags (Khovd, Uws, Bayan-Ulgii, Gobi-Altai and Arkhangai) are
engaging in groups in milk and wool processing and sewing businesses of the APUG-based
herder cooperatives.
2.3 Summary of achievement of monitoring indicators
Indicators Baseline
2013
Target
for 2015
Achievemen
t
by 31 July
2015
Rate of
execution
Outcome 3: Demand-driven extension service system for herders (f/m) is
set up.
3.1. Perception of usefulness of extension
services by herders (f/m=30/70)
11.2% 50% 51.6% 103%
3.2. MNT Public funds allocated for
extension services at aimag and soum
levels
MNT
65
million
MNT
58.25
million
MNT
70 million
120%
3.3. MNT Funds spent on extension
services by APUG-based herder
cooperatives
MNT
8 million
MNT
8.4
million
MNT
11 million
131%
Output 3.1. The capacity of the extension service system is strengthened.
3.1.1. Improved collaboration of MULS
and NAEC
0 2 2 100%
3.1.2. # of students (f/m=50/50) learning
extension methods at MULS
42 150 36 24%