People in Need presents the Advancing Understanding of Dzud Risk report
Published: Nov 28, 2018 Reading time: 2 minutes
Ulaanbaatar – On Friday November 23rd, over 70 scientists, researchers, policy makers and representatives from National Hydrology Research and Information Center in Mongolia, Nagoya University, People in Need INGO and Oxford University gathered for the Knowledge exchange symposium 2018: Dzud Risk and Management in Mongolia at Topaz hall, Bluesky Hotel in Ulaanbaatar on November 22nd to discuss issues related to the Mongolia winter specific disaster - dzud. The participants also discussed disaster management and the capacity of Mongolian herders to overcome dzud risk.
Information and Research Institute of Meteorology (Mongolia) together with Nagoya University (Japan) developed a new dzud risk mapping to prevent dzud disaster that has been used in practice starting June 1, 2016. This year, the symposium aimed to assess the efficiency of the dzud risk map from fall 2017 to spring 2018 used by the Mongolian government, aid organizations and researchers, and presented projected dzud risks for the coming winter for the use in early warnings, winter preparation, and management. The organizers of the symposium developed a risk data for the 2018/2019 winter dzud and discussed ways to implement it. During the symposium, People in Need presented its Multi-Indicator Dzud Vulnerability Index (MVDI) Report intended to advance discussions on dzud modelling and early warning.
“People in Need in Mongolia is very proud that under the “Leveraging Technology and Tradition for Resilience in Rural Mongolia” (LTT4R) project, an SMS platform providing real-time, on-demand weather information is being extended to several eastern and central aimags. The SMS system enables herders in rural areas of Mongolia to protect themselves and their families proactively by accessing weather forecast and pasture information. Funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations and implemented jointly with Mercy Corps, LTT4R aims to increase herder’s resilience to drought and dzud, and climate change across rural Mongolia,” said Marc Tasse, the Country Director of People in Need.
Organized for the second consecutive year, the symposium allows the international scientists, researchers and experts to collaborate, exchange experiences, disseminate information on policies and lessons learned on dzud, assess disaster risks, and introduce new disaster preventive measure based on the latest scientific findings.
English version of Multi-Indicator Dzud Vulnerability Index (MVDI) Report can be downloaded here and Mongolian version here
