The effects of climate change and active use of natural resources are the key factors to pastoral social-ecological vulnerability in agriculture-based developing countries. Pastoral vulnerability is a base to measure how climate change affects pasture, livestock and the livelihoods of herding communities. It is explained through natural stressors of drought (and harsh winter) and human factors of pasture use and vegetation cover change as a set of interlinked impacts on social and economic conditions and coping strategies of herder communities. Our past study “Ecological vulnerability assessment for adaptation strategy formulation at different spatial scales in western Mongolia and China” revealed that the rural herding communities and local government units lack scientific information to better understand the nexus of Climate-PastureLivelihood and how it might impact their well-being now and in the future. They also have limited capacity building resources in science, policy, and its implementation.

The science-policy adaptive capacity program (SiPaC) funded by Asia-Pacific Network on Global Change Research (APN) was implemented by the Mongolian Academy of Sciences with the assistance of the project collaborators in Gobi-Altai province, Mongolia, where ecologically most vulnerable province affected by climate change related disaster extremes, water resources shortage, and cultural changes, while trying to keep its nomadic rangeland systems. Building on the pastoral social-ecological vulnerability assessment, the SiPaC program aimed at enhancing local herding communities, young leaders/researchers, practitioners, and government units to participate in, and connect to, local, national, and regional science and policy agenda (SDGs) on climate change adaptation, and enabling them learn science-based pastoral management, best practices, and innovative solutions.

Within the project framework, 5 capacity building trainings were organized in total: four interactive training sessions in two countries, Mongolia and China, and a final dissemination training workshop in Mongolia. Each session was designed as a two-to four-days’ workshop to provide insights into specific topics.