Work plan

You want to know what I've been up to the last three months? Nothing.
You want to know what I think I'll be up to the next three months? Following my introduction and all the little dot points I've conjured up that goes with my work plan and what I think I can actually do.
This is my introduction. It's still in the early days but in case you're interested in why I'm actually here, this is, hopefully, how I'm going to help.

Introduction to Mongolia; nomadism, work culture and geography

Introduction

Mongolia is a nation located in largely inhospitable terrain encompassed by somewhat inhospitable neighbours. It is currently sitting in a very unique political climate that leaves many options to create a positive future. Twenty years after peacefully becoming its own entity, the country of Mongolia is still a developing nation that holds on to remnants of historical regimes, namely the Russian Soviet era, Chinese Manchu era and perhaps the greatest influence of all – Chinggis Khan’s empire.

Due to Mongolia’s relative geographic isolation and staunchly independent and patriotic culture, there has been comparatively minimal global influence. Traditional nomadic culture is being rekindled post-Soviet era to maintain the historical lifestyle and is often in conflict with the desire for globalization.

Desire for products of globalization such as television, internet, cars and fertilizer and a need to provide basic human rights such as clean water, basic sanitation and education has pushed Mongolia to overstock land, exploit natural resources and prioritise very important issues over other very important facets of running a country. The political decisions and subsequent changes made thus far have resulted in an accidental divide wedged between the richer and poorer citizens.

As a result of the rich/poor disparity and the poverty caused by developing a nation, the World Bank (with funding from the European Union and Japanese Government) implemented at the instigation of the Mongolian government the “Sustainable Livelihoods Project” (SLP). It is to be executed in three phases over twelve years.

Currently in phase two, the SLP has provided much needed support in many different aspects of Mongolian life. Projects that were initially piloted have since gained momentum and are now spread nationwide with the aim of providing support, information and research/development to improve the livelihoods of Mongolians.

The diversity of the project is immense, ranging from medical care to microfinance loans and water sanitation. The focus of this report will be pastural management as in the PIM (project implementation manual) that guides the subgroup of the SLP.

Pastural Management within the SLP is supported by many contractors such as Mercy Corps, GreenGold, Swiss Development Corporation and the Centre for Policy and Research. The support roles of such contractors are important to the maintenance of the very diverse project. They provide specifically technical expertise in their field and are engaged after much consultation and negotiation. Evaluation of contractors is ongoing to ensure efficiency.

While consultants and contractors play an important role in the SLP project, other avenues are currently being trialed to share global knowledge and best practice. The Australian government has sponsored a young Australian to disseminate knowledge and provide differing perspectives on various aspects of Mongolian pastural management. As a young professional, skills transfer will be specific and research based. Directed by a work plan devised by the SLP pastural risk management team, this report will encompass all that is possible within the work plan in the specified one year sponsored time period.