Indigenous Women, Climate Change and Disasters

 
In Mongolia pastoralism provides the livelihood of 40% of the population, and the industry is highly vulnerable to natural hazards, especially climate extremes and desertification. Mongolia is already one of the most arid countries in the world, with over 90% of the territory classified as arid to moisture deficient, which is exacerbated by deforestation and land degradation. Climate change adds another layer to sustainability issues. Since 1950, average mean temperatures have increased three times faster than the global average. Rather than resulting in a generally milder climate, the magnitude and frequency of climatic hazards appear to be increasing, especially summer droughts leading to winter dzuds (a sudden freezing event). Climate projections for Mongolia indicate harsher winter conditions for pastoralists due to heavier winter snow and more dzud events, along with poorer quality summer pasture, and a reduction in wheat yields for crop farmers. The resulting challenges for Mongolia include rural impoverishment, rapid urbanization, and changes in education and work opportunities that also impact family relations and work-related gender roles. These challenges can negatively impact the overall gender equality situation.

Mongolia is facing significant weather-related disasters and the impacts of climate change. The country has already seen an average temperature increase of three times the global average. Far from creating a gentler climate across the board, this appears to have generated greater weather extremes, blending climate impacts with phenomena that have led to disasters. In particular, hazards such as the sudden freezing weather events known as dzuds—as well as increasing drought and desertification—impact traditional pastoralist livelihoods and lead to rural impoverishment. This is accelerating migration to urban areas which puts pressure on the social, economic, and physical infrastructure of Ulaanbaatar and other urban centers. Sudden disaster impacts are overwhelmingly negative, but the need to adapt to and mitigate climate change is a more mixed phenomenon that can also bring positive opportunities through the social changes it triggers.

Mongolia faces significant environmental management challenges that are amplified by climate change. The challenges arise from rapid growth, a harsh climate, its unique geography, substantial natural hazards, and the economic dominance of mining and pastoralism. The average altitude of the country is 1,580 meters above sea level, and is therefore generally colder than other countries of the same latitude.

Dzuds disaster: These events normally occur when a severe summer drought is followed by an extreme winter. They have two primary causes: (i) meteorological conditions such as blizzards, heavy snow, extreme cold, and ice-bound pastures; and (ii) lack of available pasture due to droughts and overgrazing. The increase in the frequency of dzuds has dramatically heightened the risks of poverty for rural people, especially herders (indigenous people).

Snowstorms and dust storms: Strong winds produce severe snowstorms in the fall and winter, and dust storms in the late winter and early spring. Windstorms remove the topsoil and make agriculture extremely difficult. Since 2000, dust storms have been occurring earlier, with greater frequency, lasting longer, and carrying stronger winds and more dust. The winds also contribute to intense snowstorms and blizzards that can dump one meter of snow within a short time.

Extreme cold and heat waves: These phenomena are common, and the patterns are changing. Since the 1940s the frequency of days of extreme high temperatures (maximum air temperature above 26°C) has increased on average by 16 to 25 days per year, and the frequency of days with extreme cold (minimum air temperature below –50°C) has decreased by 13 to 14 days per year.

Floods and landslides: The country is vulnerable to flooding in the spring when snowmelt. Flash flooding and landslides can occur after a period of heavy rain, impacting livelihoods and claiming lives.

Desertification, deforestation, and land degradation: This is due to a combination of overgrazing, poor land use practices such as the large-scale transformation of prairies into croplands, and excessive logging in the previous generation without effective reforestation, as well as wildfires. Climate change impacts are expected to exacerbate the rate of desertification and land degradation.

Indigenous Women’s Health: Climate change is impacting health in a myriad of ways, including by leading to death and illness from increasingly frequent extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, storms and floods, the disruption of food systems, increases in zoonosis and food-, water- and vector-borne diseases, and mental health issues.
Because rural indigenous people live in remote areas from the central area, indigenous women are unable to receive health care, services so the incidence of non-communicable diseases and deaths among indigenous women are very high. Breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer and liver cancer are common among indigenous women and the death rate is high because the cancer is diagnosed in its final stage and cannot be treated due to lack of access to health services.
 
Gender and Disaster Risk Management
Disasters can affect men and women differently depending on gender roles in the type of work and family caring responsibilities. With Mongolian women earning less than men on average and having less access to land and housing, they may also suffer greater relative economic losses and longer recovery times if they lose their homes or possessions. This can also increase their unpaid workload of home and caring duties following disasters. The situation of herder families is also unique to Mongolia. Weather-related hazards impact greatly on their livelihoods. Although they work as family economic units it is important to look at gender roles within family structures to understand whether special measures are needed to address gender-based vulnerabilities or the needs of women or men in disasters. This would be distinct but in addition to understanding climate change and disaster risks for urban men and women. Gender profiles—which examine gender roles and responsibilities and socioeconomic status in normal times—can play important role in disaster risk management and should feed into law and policy related decision making. Land security for women needs to improve in advance of further climate change and disasters. The key to this is ensuring that there is sufficient and relevant sex-disaggregated land information and data to enable targeted approaches to promote indigenous women’s land rights. This needs to include not only quantitative but qualitative information, as the registration of women on land may also be connected to the stereotyping of women’s roles. Inheritance rights and housing are other key areas that are vital for women as they are connected to poverty and inextricably linked with economic autonomy. These rights are highly important to strengthening women’s economic resilience to disasters and climate change.