Herders and hazards: covariate dzud risk and the cost of risk management strategies in a Mongolian subdistrict

Ahearn, Ariell

doi:10.1007/s11069-017-3128-4

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In herding households, all members experience contact with livestock, companion animals, and even wildlife, which can lead to zoonotic and reverse zoonotic disease transmission (Ebright et al 2003;Odontsetseg et al 2005;Barnes et al 2017;Sack et al 2018). Harsh climates, resource scarcity, and herd competition can also promote malnutrition and lowered immune competence among animals, exposing them to infection, outbreaks, and high mortality rates (Batsukh et al 2012;Ahearn 2018a). When young animals are ill or malnourished, or at risk for predation or cold weather, they may be brought inside the ger (Foggin et al 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge and practices surrounding zoonotic disease among Mongolian herding households

Barnes

Baasandavga²,

Davaasuren³

et al. 2020

Pastoralism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The strong bond between herder and livestock was forged centuries ago in rural Mongolia and remains an element of national pride and a cornerstone to the economy. However, semi-nomadic herders frequently live at the edge of human health care, veterinary services, and municipal infrastructure like water and sanitation. This study examined zoonotic risk factors and disease perceptions among 150 rural herding households. Less than half of the participating households used an improved drinking water source (43.3%), and the majority of herding families did not use an improved sanitation service (68.5%). Almost half of the study population practise open defaecation (49.7%). Hand washing occurs after animal contact (78%) but not after defaecation/urination (76.6%). Domestic animal ownership and/or presence was reported at every household, and exposure risks varied by the gender of the household member. Most households had knowledge about zoonotic disease transmission (74%) but far less recognized the risk of reverse zoonoses, or human-to-animal disease transmission (53.3%). Few survey respondents believed that animal contact is a risk factor for diarrhoeal disease (8.7%). This study highlights zoonotic disease exposure risks from animal husbandry practices and inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene access and behaviours among rural herding households. Zoonotic disease prevention among Mongolian herders should be implemented using a One Health framework to simultaneously address human, animal, and environmental health concerns of rural herding households.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge and practices surrounding zoonotic disease among Mongolian herding households

Barnes

Baasandavga²,

Davaasuren³

et al. 2020

Pastoralism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The city has experienced particularly rapid urbanization over the past two decades following the transition to a market economy [30] [31]. Ulaanbaatar's population was less than 0.8 million in the year 2000 and over 1.4 million in 2017 [29] [32].…”

Section: 1mentioning

confidence: 99%

A preliminary assessment of urban water security in Ulaanbaatar, a semi-arid region in Mongolia.

Fuertes¹

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water security is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. Understanding context-specific challenges and opportunities around this issue is key to improving water systems globally. This paper explores the current state of urban water security in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital city. Ulaanbaatar is home to more than 40% of the country’s population and 60% of its national GDP. The city is located in the Tuul River basin and relies almost entirely on groundwater aquifers of the Tuul River for its supply of clean drinking water. In recent years, socio-economic stressors resulting from rapid urbanisation and environmental pressures have intensified the levels of degradation of the Tuul River and intensified the risks of water insecurity for the population of Ulaanbaatar. This study combines quantitative and qualitative methods to provide a preliminary assessment of water security at the urban level. This paper presents an urban water security index for the dimensions of water supply and sanitation, water productivity, water environment, water-related disasters and water governance. The findings and discussion are supplemented with information from key informant interviews. This paper concludes by highlighting the important limitations that exist in terms of data availability for an urban scale assessment. The results suggest that important water security inequalities also prevail within the Ulaanbaatar city-region itself which are often masked by using average scores in assessments of this sort.

show abstract

“…Consequently, natural calamities such as droughts, frosts, or snowstorms (dzüd) occur regularly. The most recent series of dzüd in 1999-2002 and 2009-2010 each killed millions of animals and many families lost everything they had (Ahearn, 2017;Thrift & Ichinkhorloo, 2015).…”

Section: Changing Economic Circumstancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pastoralist Dilemmas: Where to Go and When to Move, or with Whom to Talk?

Finke

2021

Hum Ecol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pastoralists in Western Mongolia face a range of challenges during their annual grazing cycle due to the simultaneous but conflicting needs for secure allocation rules and a high degree of flexibility. In this paper, I analyze the seasonal arrangements and corresponding strategies that households adopt to deal with unpredictable environmental conditions and the demands of supplying livestock with sufficient forage throughout the year. In contrast to game theory simulations, I argue that dilemmas are: a) often not a question of cooperating or not, but form continua of more or less; and b) socially embedded as people operate in a multitude of relationships that influence their decision-making. Therefore, sharing information in a manner that prioritizes the requirements of individual households while not jeopardizing social reputation is crucially important. Rhetorical skills play an important role in this regard, but there are also situations when herders blatantly ignore state law or local institutional arrangements and risk confrontation to ensure the survival of livestock leading to a situation where free-riding may at times become the dominant strategy.

show abstract

Herders and hazards: covariate dzud risk and the cost of risk management strategies in a Mongolian subdistrict

Cited by 20 publications

References 30 publications

Knowledge and practices surrounding zoonotic disease among Mongolian herding households

Knowledge and practices surrounding zoonotic disease among Mongolian herding households

A preliminary assessment of urban water security in Ulaanbaatar, a semi-arid region in Mongolia.

Pastoralist Dilemmas: Where to Go and When to Move, or with Whom to Talk?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About