Assessment of nomadic pastoralists' livelihood vulnerability to the changing climate in the Third Pole region: Case study in the Altai Mountains of western Mongolia

The High Mountains of Asia, often called the “Third Pole” because they constitute the third largest reserve of water after the North and South Poles, are an important landscape worldwide. Western Mongolia forms part of the northeastern extent of the Third Pole, characterized by high mountain ranges and river catchment areas. The ecosystems in these high mountains, including the nomads that inhabit them, are fragile and vulnerable to environmental changes. In this study, we conducted household interviews with nomads in the Tsambagarav (TsGM) and the Munkhkhairkhan (MKhM) Mountains and, used a sustainable livelihood approach to assess the livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) of the nomads. The results showed that the overall LVI was 0.41 for TsGM and 0.44 for MKhM, with corresponding Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change-LVI of 0.01 for TsGM and − 0.02 for MKhM. Based on the findings, we recommend that decision-makers should focus on several key areas: effectively managing pasture land; implementing policies for sustainable yields; establishing an insurance-based compensation system, post-disaster communication system; and a mobile-economy informative early warning system; and lowering the loan interest rate. Among recommendations, developing a mobile-economy informative early warning system is an innovative idea to mitigate climate change disasters. These actions can contribute to a long-term sustainable livelihood in the fast-changing climate.