The Frontline of Climate Change Response in Mongolia: Villages as the Last Bastion for a Sustainable Future

2025.04.19 / Young-Rae Kim, Professor of UFE & Director of Center for Korea and Mongolia Development

Mongolia is located at 46.9°N latitude and falls under the Steppe Climate category according to Köppen’s climate classification. This climate is characterized by low annual temperatures and limited precipitation, making it unsuitable for tree growth and conventional agriculture. Unlike the temperate zones to the south, which support dense populations and agricultural abundance, or the subarctic and polar zones to the north, where human settlement is nearly impossible, Mongolia lies somewhere in between. It is a space where survival is possible, but growth and prosperity are never guaranteed. Life here has always been a continuous struggle—both in adapting to and resisting nature. The ecosystem we encounter today is the product of that enduring struggle and the wisdom of adaptation.

As of 2023, this land is facing yet another environmental challenge—one that calls for a new era of enduring struggle and the wisdom of adaptation.. According to one statistic, over the past 20 years, Mongolia has lost 1,166 lakes, 887 rivers, and 2,096 springs. The Mongolian government has also announced that 76.9% of the country's land is under threat of desertification and land degradation. This represents an unprecedented environmental crisis—qualitatively different from previous ones—that threatens the very sustainability of life across Mongolia.

While it is difficult to attribute this phenomenon to a single cause, climate change-induced temperature rise is widely recognized as one of the most compelling explanations. Over the past 60 years, global average temperatures have risen by 0.7°C, whereas Mongolia has experienced a dramatic increase of 2.1°C. Given the steppe climate’s inherently dry soil, this warming trend has had a particularly destructive impact—much like igniting a fire on dry hay.

In the face of this crisis, we may be tempted to pose a deceptively simple question: “Can we identify the causes of climate change affecting Mongolia and eliminate them?” Yet answering this question is far from straightforward. Climate change is a transnational phenomenon, making it difficult to isolate causes that affect only Mongolia. Even if such causes are identified, their removal is entangled in complex global interests. Thus, we must confront this crisis with the mindset that “we live and endure this together.” On one hand, we must explore ways to mitigate climate change; on the other, we must find wise and adaptive responses to the inevitable changes ahead.

So who, in Mongolia, should respond and adapt to this changing climate? Climate change affects everyone, meaning that every perceptive and capable individual residing in Mongolia could be a relevant actor. Individual behavioral responses are possible, and the central government can also play a leading role through political and policy interventions. Both are meaningful avenues. However, in Mongolia's case, it is difficult to apply standard models of response directly. This is a country with a unique spatial structure, lifestyle, and deep-rooted nomadic traditions that must be taken into account.

As of 2021, Mongolia has a total land area of approximately 1,564,116 km² and a population of about 3.4 million. Notably, nearly half of the population—1.6 million people—live in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, which occupies only 3% (4,007 km²) of the national territory. The remaining 1.8 million are scattered across the other 97% of the land area—roughly 15.3 times the size of South Korea (100,266 km²). This stark imbalance highlights a significant spatial disparity between urban and rural land use.

This vast territory is divided into 20 aimags (provinces) and 330 soums (districts), with an average population density of only 1.15 people per square kilometer—one of the lowest in the world. It is a landscape where people are dispersed sparsely across expansive terrain, forming what could be described as “almost empty” spaces. Yet these very regions are where 76.9% of the land under threat from desertification and degradation is located. In other words, the 20 aimags and 330 soums are home to communities that are either already experiencing the effects of climate change or are at high risk of doing so in the near future.

These areas represent the very frontline of climate change. If Mongolia is to preserve the 97% of its territory outside the capital, then a response and adaptation strategy focused on the 330 soums at the frontline is not only reasonable but essential.

Although these regions have the lowest population density in the world, they should not be dismissed as empty spaces. Mongolia’s soums have long sustained a unique socio-economic system based on nomadic life, integrating mobility with fixed settlements centered around the soum centers. These soum centers resemble small villages in form and function, where networks of trust and cooperation exist among residents who share a nomadic way of life. They maintain localized systems of production and consumption and basic infrastructures for daily living. In essence, soums are not just administrative units; they are living, self-sustaining communities rooted in unique histories and cultural practices. These communities possess not only an intimate understanding of their ecological and resource conditions but also the capacity to respond swiftly and adaptively to environmental changes.

For any climate adaptation effort—whether planting trees or promoting renewable energy for local energy independence—to be truly effective and sustainable, it must begin with the people who inhabit and protect these lands and the communities they form. Mongolia’s expansive steppes are the frontline of climate change, and the villages and communities that reside there are not mere victims. They are the vital sentinels, the last bastions of resilience, and the key to a sustainable future. The wisdom and experience of those who once adapted to Mongolia’s harsh natural environments—sometimes resisting, sometimes yielding—offer crucial insights for overcoming today’s climate crisis.

At this point, serious reflection is required. Are the climate and regional development initiatives currently being implemented across Mongolia aligned with this community-centered perspective? Are local communities genuinely participating, and is their autonomy being respected? Are these projects building the capacity for communities to strengthen their own adaptive resilience?

To win the fight against climate change, we must center our policies, programs, and actions around the villages and communities standing at the frontline. Only then can we transform the steppes from spaces of vulnerability into spaces of possibility.