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Abstract:
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"Mongolian society has never been familiar with the concept of private ownership of land. However, as the country progresses towards a free market and her economic development integrates with the tends of the global economy, the necessity of conducting land reforms in Mongolia becomes increasingly apparent. Absence of private lands is a factor that slows down economic development of the country and restricts sustainable investment in land. Although the new Constitution of Mongolia approved individualized land utilization by the Mongolian citizens, legal and practical changes toward land privatization, however, have been hesitating.
"This paper analyzes a reform option which recognizes not only the differences in the various types of land and their utilization purposes but also the different ways of life and production cycles in rural and urban areas of Mongolia. The land reform will be aimed not only at improved economic efficiency, downsizing of public spending, relief of the state budget, and safer conditions for investment in land, but also will pursue the goal of sustaining the traditional (herding) social organization of Mongolia. On the edge of the 21st century and during the ongoing basic social and economic changes to a market and globalization, the most affected social group will be herders. None of provisions of the land laws and regulations recognizes the traditional land rights of herders-- the most common and continuous users of land in Mongolia, and there is no law which would regulate pasture management. Though the government supports herders by grazing fee exemption, lack of formalization of property rights or recognition by the government causes loses of grazing lands to non-herding practices. That is why herders rights over pastures recognized in formal documents will be protected from alienation and fraud.
"Land reforms in Mongolia will differ greatly from those held in other countries because, first, unlike in most other countries, the total land fund is owned by the state. Second, the share of pastoral livestock breeding in the country's economy and its output are much larger than in many other countries in the world. And third, the prevalence of the nomadic culture still remains the main factor influencing the social life of Mongolia.
"Land reforms will be a new phase in the countrys economic and social development. It is reasonable to expect certain obstacles and negative effects during and after implementation of this new undertaking. The right way to address these social outcomes will be well-defined social policies as a component of long-term development policies of the country and wider democracy."
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