IT Landscape of Mongolia

Although Mongolian government realizes the importance in the development of IT by financing and has been gradually engaging in this process recently via near by Asian countries like, South Korea, China, Russia, Phillipines, and Singapore, the government is actively pursueing to receive sufficient funds on natural disaster frequently occuring in Mongolia

Mongolia is situated in high regions of Central Asia with severe climatic conditions, and therefore difference in daily temperatures during warm and cold seasons, is enormous. If earlier, draughts and zuds occurred only once in three years, now, due to the overall world climatic changes, frequency of those natural disasters got even closer, and the last three years it happened consequently.

This kind of change in climate has very negative impacts on agricultural development of the country, where non-irrigated crop production and pasture livestock production systems are dominated.

During the last three years Mongolia had lost 10.8 million heads of livestock, 8.8 million out of which died due to zud, which could be converted to 269.5 million tugriks in total. These figures will increase dramatically if the following issues are included such as: decrease in numbers of offsprings produced from every hundred of breeding animals, deterioration of animal quality and productivity, increase of abortions and number of barren animals, state direct and indirect expenses for draught and zud damage alleviation, amount of international and donor loan and assistance, decrease in overall domestic production of processing enterprises, as well as reduction of export incomes against import increase and all other economic losses caused by those natural disasters.

In 2000, the total amount of humanitarian aid and financial assistance reached to 30.0 million US dollars which were offered by many foreign countries, international organizations, donors and private persons in order to help us to overcome damage and losses that were facing Mongolia. People of Mongolia are sincerely grateful for that financial as well as moral support during those hard years.

Due to the increasing frequency and extent of draught and zud, "National programme for protecting livestock from draught and zud" was approved by the Government of Mongolia in 2001. Within the framework of the programme implementation, state reserve points were additionally established in all Aimags, and certain measures are taken regarding establishment of Aimag and Soum level reserves, that are based on former state reserve facilities.

With a view to restore Aimag and Soum emergency reserves, the Government of Mongolia also distributed Tug 1.050 billion in 2001 from the state budget to Aimags for the preparation of hay and fodder reserves in Aimags and Soums.

The state budget is spending Tug 5.1 billion for measures to improve livestock health, Tug 850.0 million for combating pasture pests, rodents and insects and over Tug 440.0 million for the improvement of water supply in pasture land and repair of wells.

In connection with these conditions the Government of Mongolia is taking additional measures such as:

1. The Government approved to spend Tug 1.0 billion totally in order to increase hay and fodder amounts at the regional state reserves up to 50%;

2. To extend repayment of Tug 1050.0 million, which was issued last year as loan for establishment of fodder funds at Aimags and Soums within project "Hay & Fodder - 2001"; the funds would be used temporarily for preparing livestock for wintering and repaid in 2003.

3. A decision was made to allot 116.5 million tugriks to repair engineered wells and drill new ones in rich pasture (otor) regions. The work had been done.

4. In connection with current excessive dry climate, a resolution was passed to repair and reestablish low-pressure irrigation systems and support citizens in having irrigated hay fields and grow vegetables. In the first place, twenty million tugriks, with repayment condition, were allotted to repair Hurhree irrigation system in Chandman soum of Gobi-Altai province.

5. In order to help herders to prepare hay themselves and improve their abilities rakes, silk thread dews and horse driven (morin) machines were given for half-price with repayment condition.