Mongolia: Impact of early warning early action

Working with national governments and humanitarian, development and scientific partners, FAO’s Early Warning Early Action approach monitors risk information systems and translates warnings into anticipatory actions. Every quarter, FAO’s Early Warning Early Action report on food security and agriculture ranks risks by their likelihood and potential impact and identifies the best interventions. Then, FAO’s Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA), can release money from its early action window. The funds back tailored plans which are rapidly put into place, drawing on FAO’s greatest asset: its technical knowledge and expertise in supporting rural livelihoods.

Early actions are varied and flexible, ranging from cash transfers for fishing communities to safely store their nets ahead of an impending cyclone, to livestock treatments for herders as a drought intensifies, to flood defences before a severe rainy season to protect crops. This study analyses the outcomes of targeted early actions in Mongolia in the winter of 2017 to 2018, triggered by warnings that extreme weather posed a major risk to vulnerable livestock herders. It evaluates their effectiveness and quantifies the benefits of acting early.