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Participatory Soum Level Pasture Co-Management in Mongolia
In Mongolia’s rural administrative system, an aimag is a province, a soum is its district, and a bagh is the smallest unit within a soum, covering households and herder communities. Across 13 soums in Uvurkhangai, Dornogovi, Sukhbaatar and Tuv aimags, open grazing, weak coordination and limited land-use information contributed to pasture degradation. The Sustainable Land Management for Combating Desertification Project formed herder groups and co-management committees, introducing participatory planning, GIS mapping, rotational grazing, field monitoring and locally managed funds. Herders submitted pasture-use proposals at bagh meetings and helped implement annual soum plans. Seasonal grazing restrictions covered over 900,000 ha, while three plots in each target soum compared grazed and ungrazed vegetation. It established 109 herder groups, linked community knowledge with local government decisions, and created a replicable model for restoring and sustainably managing dry rangelands while supporting pastoral livelihoods.
Using KAP and Livelihood Evidence to Guide Adaptive SLM and Landscape Restoration in Mongolia
The ENSURE Project combined Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) assessments with household livelihood surveys to strengthen evidence-based SLM and landscape restoration in four Mongolian aimags. A 2019 baseline and 2022 follow-up assessed environmental knowledge, conservation practices, training participation, income and livelihood conditions; the 2022 livelihood assessment covered 376 households. Results refined awareness activities, capacity development, livelihood support and natural-resource management. By 2022, the combined knowledge score had risen from 3.09% to 7.0%, conservation practices by 12.8 percentage points, and training participation 2.7-fold. The approach complements biophysical land-degradation-neutrality monitoring by explaining social and livelihood factors that influence land-use decisions. It shows how repeated socio-economic evidence can support adaptive management, although surveys do not themselves measure ecological restoration.
Renforcer ce qui fonctionne : reconnaître et soutenir les peuples autochtones et les communautés locales dans leurs exploits de conservation
Cette note d’information a pour objet d’aider les pays à reconnaître et à soutenir les territoires et les aires du patrimoine conservés par les peuples autochtones et les communautés locales (APAC), en restant sensibles et respectueux des nombreuses questions en cause. Elle contient des éléments de base sur les APAC ainsi qu’un condensé de leçons apprises, et des recommandations pour les gouvernements qui mettent en oeuvre le Programme de travail de la CDB sur les Aires protégées (PoWPA).
Guidance and toolkit for impact assessments in a World Heritage context (Chinese version)
As the World Heritage Convention celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022, over 1100 sites around the world are recognized as World Heritage – places that are so valuable to humanity that there conservation has been deemed our collective responsibility. Yet many of these exceptional places face increasing pressure from diverse types of development projects within and around the sites. Assessing the impacts of such projects is essential to both prevent damage to World Heritage and identify sustainable options. This Guidance and toolkit explains the process for achieving these goals. Offering practical tips and tools including checklists and a glossary, it provides a framework for conducting impact assessments for cultural and natural heritage sites.
Fortalecer lo que funciona : reconocimiento y apoyo a pueblos indígenas y comunidades locales en sus logros de conservación
Se espera que la presente Nota Informativa los oriente de manera sensible y respetuosa teniendo en cuento los muchos temas involucrados. Contiene hechos fundamentales acerca de las ICCA, sintetiza lecciones aprendidas, y ofrece recomendaciones para los gobiernos qui implementan el Programa de Trabajo sobre Áreas Protegidas del CDB (PoWPA). La Nota ofrece también consejos sintéticos sobre qué hacer y qué no hacer dirigidos a los gobiernos y la sociedad civil qui están comprometarget_idos en mantener los immensos beneficios de las ICCA en términos de conservación y sustento a los medios de vida.
Testing Before Scaling: Mongolia's Living Laboratory for Dryland Restoration
The Elsentasarkhai living laboratory is a permanent platform for testing dryland restoration solutions before wider investment and replication. Established in 2011 on 45 hectares at Mongolia’s dry steppe-desert steppe transition, it combines field research, multi-year monitoring, demonstration, training and knowledge exchange. Trials address drought, strong winds, shifting sand and limited water through 1 x 1 m straw checkerboards, revegetation, windbreak forest belts and cultivation of 21 rare and endangered native tree and shrub species. A 10-hectare moving-sand trial stabilized sand for three to four years when barriers were combined with revegetation. Managed by the Institute of Geography and Geoecology, the station has continued beyond the original UNDP-supported project, hosted 40+ research activities, including five international collaborations, and provided learning for researchers, students, herders and officials. Its lesson is simple: test locally, monitor over time, learn openly and scale only what works.
Climate-resilient Fodder Storage Infrastructure for Disaster Risk Reduction and Pastoral Adaptation in Mongolia
Mongolia’s pastoral communities are increasingly exposed to climate-related hazards, particularly recurrent droughts and dzud that cause severe livestock losses and threaten rural livelihoods. To strengthen climate resilience and disaster preparedness, the UNDP ADAPT Project implemented a climate-resilient fodder storage solution in Khovd, Zavkhan, Dornod and Sukhbaatar provinces.
The solution established and rehabilitated hay and feed storage facilities in climate-vulnerable areas identified through risk assessments using climate, vegetation and livestock mortality data. In total, 48 storage facilities were developed to improve emergency fodder reserves and ensure timely access to feed during harsh winter and spring conditions.
The intervention combines risk-informed planning, resilient infrastructure, local participation and institutional collaboration. It has improved herders’ adaptive capacity, reduced vulnerability to climate shocks, strengthened food security for livestock, and enhanced local disaster risk reduction.
Bridging Climate and Biodiversity Policy: A Synergies Assessment of NDC, NAP and NBSAP for Mongolia
Mongolia’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), National Adaptation Plan (NAP), and National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) were developed separately across different departments despite being hosted by the same ministry – resulting in fragmented planning and missed opportunities for shared climate and biodiversity solutions.
To address this, GIZ Mongolia commissioned a synergies assessment. Guided by the NDC-NAP-NBSAP Synergies Checklist, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) conducted a desk-based analysis, stakeholder interviews, and a problem tree analysis with relevant government and development partner stakeholders.
The assessment identifies alignment gaps, root causes of fragmented policymaking, and concrete recommendations to strengthen coordination and promote integrated climate and biodiversity action. Published shortly before three UN COPs, it provides a replicable model for other countries seeking to align their climate and biodiversity frameworks.
Promoting Co-benefits for Migratory Birds and Rural Livelihoods through Bird-Friendly Rice Farming in the Liaohe River Estuary
The Liaohe River Estuary in northeast China is a key stopover and breeding site along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, supporting waterbirds, including endangered Saunders’s Gull. The area is also a major rice-producing region sustaining local livelihoods. However, intensive rice farming has degraded wetland habitats, reduced biodiversity, and increased economic risks for farmers.
To address these challenges, this solution promotes a bird-friendly rice farming model integrating rice cultivation, crab co-culture, and improved water management. The approach transforms rice fields into multifunctional agro-wetlands that support biodiversity while maintaining stable production and farmer income.
Implemented through pilot demonstrations, farmer training, ecological monitoring, and market development, the model strengthened local capacity and encouraged sustainable practices. Pilot results show increased waterbird diversity and improved farm income, demonstrating that conservation and agriculture can be mutually reinforcing.
Integrating Photovoltaics with Water Retention and Ecological Restoration in Arid Regions
This solution demonstrates how large-scale solar energy development can be aligned with nature-based solutions (NbS) to address land degradation, water scarcity, and climate resilience. Implemented in Yulin, Shaanxi Province, and Yinchuan, Ningxia Province, the projects integrate photovoltaic infrastructure with ecological restoration and water retention strategies, transforming degraded sandy land into multifunctional landscapes.
Beneath the solar panels, water-retaining agents are incorporated into the soil to form distributed “micro-reservoirs” that capture limited rainfall, reduce evaporation, and support vegetation growth. The resulting vegetation has shown strong establishment compared to typical solar farm conditions. This improved vegetation cover enhances soil stability, reduces desertification risks, and strengthens ecosystem resilience, while maintaining efficient energy production with reduced cleaning frequency and lower water demand.
Enhancing Local Climate Action: Strengthening Municipalities’ Strategic Climate Adaptation Planning and Financial Integration
Guatemala is considered as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, facing threats to water and food security as well as livelihoods. Despite this, climate action has received insufficient consideration in the country’s development agenda and local planning.
To address these issues, the EbA-LAC program has collaborated with relevant institutional teams to establish a joint approach towards guiding municipalities in the incorporation of climate considerations into their planning and budgeting processes. Through advocacy actions, key actors have updated the public investment system to include adaptation products, providing a procedural framework for municipalities to access funding and include adaptation measures in municipal budgets. In addition, by improving inter-institutional coordination, facilitating joint municipal planning tools, as well as strengthening municipalitechnical capacities, EbA-LAC has succeeded in paving the way for municipalities to leverage synergies towards an increased resilience.
Sqba Community Adopts the Satoyama Initiative: Promoting Eco-Friendly Farming and Traditional Crop Conservation
The Sqba Community is located in a mid-altitude forest with abundant ecological resources. Once an industrial area for the Hrung tribe, the community now comprises 33% Atayal, alongside populations of Hakka, Minnan, and Mainlanders. Local industries center on agriculture, particularly fruit production such as persimmons, and tourism, featuring campsites, ecotours, fruit-picking experiences, cultural ecology guided tours, and DIY workshops that make use of local ecological resources. Under the Satoyama Initiative, the Taichung Branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency conducted resilience assessment workshops (RAWs) in collaboration with locals to identify and prioritize urgent needs, such as conserving traditional crops, promoting sustainable use of forest, river, and field resources, and leveraging ecological assets for income generation and marketing. The local government and agricultural technology departments also participated.