New Delhi, Nov 11 : A UNDP-supported seven-year project is going to benefit close to one million vulnerable people in Mongolia where climate change is threatening natural resources and fragile ecosystems. At the 27th meeting of its board, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the world's largest fund dedicated to climate finance, on Tuesday approved a new $23.1 million grant towards strengthening the climate resilience of herder communities. Approximately 26,000 households (130,000 people), living across four of the country's most remote and vulnerable Western and Eastern aimags (provinces) are set to benefit, with a further 160,000 households (800,000 people) to benefit indirectly -- around one quarter of Mongolia's national population. The project brings together climate-informed natural resources management and sustainable livestock practices, building on traditional cooperative approaches among herders while also introducing innovative technologies for traceability of sustainably sourced livestock products. It will enhance the generation and use of climate prognosis data in decision-making; rehabilitate degraded land and catchment areas; improve herders' water and grazing land management practices; and strengthen herders' access to markets for sustainably sourced livestock products. Crucially, it will also support the policy transformations needed to promote sustainable livestock and pasture management practices. Mongolia is subject to a range of natural disasters, including harsh winters, drought, snow and dust storms. Climate change is multiplying the challenges: over the last decade, the magnitude and frequency of such disasters have increased several fold, with estimated economic costs around $10-15 million annually. The disasters take a heavy toll on livestock and rural livelihoods. Increased temperatures, coupled with decreased precipitation, have resulted in a drying trend affecting pastures and water sources, and shifting natural zones --in turn impacting the natural resources on which herders and livestock rely. COVID-19 has further exposed the vulnerability of the livestock sector to shocks, with the fluctuations in demand compounding existing challenges, and reinforcing the importance of green recovery and resilient growth. "The impacts of climate change are a major concern in Mongolia, contributing to land degradation and desertification," said Minister for Environment and Tourism, Sarangerel Davaajantsan. "With the grant from the Green Climate Fund complementing $56.2 million from the government, this project will contribute to a paradigm shift towards more climate-resilient sustainable development, particularly with focus on disaster risk reduction. "It will reap multiple benefits, including supporting vulnerable herder families' livelihoods by offering more options but also improved access to markets in which they can sell their products -- a significant socio-economic benefit. "At the same time, it will also bring considerable long-term environmental benefits, including more resilient rehabilitated land and river basin areas, and improved conservation of water resources while strengthening disaster management and development planning to build forward Mongolia better." Developed over several years with the support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and in close consultation with the government of Mongolia, communities, development partners and academia, the project will be led by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, with the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry as a key partner. The GCF was set up by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010. It drives climate finance to where it is needed most: in the Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States, and African States. /IANS