Ulaanbaatar, 18 September 2020 – The Mongolian Sustainable Cashmere Platform, established early in 2020 at UNDP Mongolia, has been established to facilitate several key activities with close collaboration of core stakeholders including:

• To build consensus on the definition of Sustainable Cashmere;
  
• Sustainable recovery of the cashmere sector after Covid-19 applying a Systems thinking approach;
• Building a strong community of dedicated and committed stakeholders, nationally and globally

The Steering Committee of the Mongolian Sustainable Cashmere Platform met and agreed today on the date of the Plenary Meeting as 20 November 2020. The Plenary Meeting is a consensus building multi-stakeholder forum with the aim to kick start and accelerate collective action in the Mongolian cashmere sector to make it sustainable and competitive.

Elaine Conkievich, UNDP Resident Representative delivered the opening remark highlighting the importance of sustainability for Mongolia’s cashmere sector stating “Cashmere is essential for the livelihoods of herders and for Mongolia’s economy as well as an important aspect of Mongolia’s nomadic tradition and culture. The establishment of this Platform therefore we believe is an essential factor in making cashmere sustainable for the benefit of the Mongolian people and Mongolia’s future.”

As transparency and traceability in supply chains improve, global buyers are demanding demonstration of sustainability in all forms including environmental, social and economic. Therefore, among expected outcomes of the first Plenary Meeting on 20 November will be the consensus on Sustainable Cashmere definition, consensus on shared vision and signing Letter of Intent by stakeholders on collective action.

MSCP is enabling diverse stakeholders – including herders, traders, international buyers, government and civil society to discuss key issues surrounding sustainable cashmere supply chain in a systemic way.

Notes for the editor

Desertification and land degradation threaten 77 percent of Mongolia’s land, largely caused by overgrazing by livestock. Rising temperatures make matters worse, with a 2°C increase over the past 70 years. Quota restrictions limited herd growth until they were lifted in 1990, when the goat population soared from 5.1 million to today’s 27 million. They are looked after by 233 thousand nomadic herder households or, some 25% of the country's population.[1]

UNDP helps developing economies around the world accelerate their progress on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. A key part of this is supporting the systemic transformation of agricultural commodity sectors, which are an essential economic driver for the country. UNDP is working with governments to transform this, supporting smallholder farmers within commodity supply chains in a systemic fashion, changing the dynamic by bringing stakeholders to work together to create meaningful change.

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Learn more at mn.undp.org or follow at @UNDPMongolia.

For further inquiries:

Odgerel Oyungerel

Communications Manager

Mongolian Sustainable Cashmere Platform, UNDP Mongolia

Tel: +976 9902 3005 Email: odgerel.oyungerel@undp.org