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To plot people on the map

The traditional nomadic people of Mongolia are changing. Authorities are plotting the population on maps to get hold of them.




(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)

 

Imagine getting a package delivered to the exact office building, parking lot, or even the couch you're sitting in. Quite comfortable, or what? This may be possible with the new location system developed by what3words, a start-up company in the UK. Instead of elaborate GPS coordinates, their system allows you to select the 3 × 3 meter area you are (currently) on.

This is of course excellent if, for example, you order a package, but intend to work late in the office. Or better yet – it can be indispensable if you live in a country where street names are rare, or there are nomadic tribes.

It comes as no surprise that Mongolia is the first country to use the 3-word mail delivery system. With just over three million inhabitants in a country that is almost half the size of the entire EU (even without England), it was a challenge for many years to get mail delivered from the authorities to the population.

Making it easier for citizens to get public documents, open a bank account or start a business is not the only reason why (the 100 percent state-owned) Mongolia Post pay what What3words requires to reach the citizens of the country using the 3 word system.

When you think of Mongolia, you might see big steppes or riding children herding reindeer herds. Or maybe colorful interiors in the typical round one-room tents (herb or ger) they would like to live in.

This has been the dominant image of this large country with relatively few inhabitants, but over the years many people have moved to the capital Ulan Bator. Between 2010 and 2015, an average of 2,78 percent of the population moved annually. That's over 10 percent of the total population in just five years.

miners. Now, an astonishing 72 percent of this historic nomad population lives in urban areas. Over 1,3 million people live in Ulan Bator, some in houses, others in their traditional ones jurtis on the outskirts of town. According to the United Nations Development Program, this has been a major change since the 1950s, when only 20 percent lived in urban areas. “The rapid growth of the capital has taken place without planning, and the rapid migration has led to many challenges, such as unemployment, traffic chaos, air pollution and the expansion of gives-areas."

Still – it is precisely education and work that has led people to move to the metropolis, according to a report from Development Progress. Traditionally there has been little need for higher education in Mongolia, but after discovering many minerals in the bedrock, including oil, coal, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, nickel, zinc, fluorine, gold, silver and iron, the government needs labor in the mines. It requires a more educated population.

The industry accounts for 34 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. And when 21 percent of people live below the poverty line (2014), there is hope for a better future for the children that drives people away from nomadic life.

There have been improvements in the education system, but lack of skills in the workforce is still a problem for the mainly foreign mining companies, according to Development Progress.

The need for skilled miners, in turn, requires improved tax collection. This is exactly what the authorities in Mongolia have achieved, confirms a World Bank report (2009). "Improvements to the tax administration have led to more efficient tax collection and higher tax revenues."

Now, an astonishing 72 percent of this historic nomad population lives in urban areas.

Grab the population. In light of this, it is easy to understand the Mongolian government's decision to use the 3-word system. To put it simply: If you can find your citizens, it is easier to tax them, spend your money to improve their education and attract more foreign mining companies.

Better education and increased prosperity are good for a poor population. It is also a great advantage for the country. Optimizing the country's income can only happen if people are directed towards jobs in the mining industry.

As the mining companies have complained about the lack of workers with specific competence, the government has to aim the small population of three million towards just such jobs. And nomads have trouble getting a nine-to-four job.

Plotting people on a map is a way to get a grip on the population and increase the number of workers with the desired skills. In many countries, maps were introduced only when a significant market was developed, as James C. Scott explains in the book Seeing Like a State.

«Land maps in general and property maps in particular are intended to make the local situation clear to an outsider. For purely local purposes, property maps are superfluous. Everyone knew, for example, who owned the grazing land by the river, the value of the fodder it provided, and the feudal fees that came with it. There was no need to know the exact dimensions. […] But a proper map seems to have been used especially when a lively real estate market developed. "

Mapping the country and population increases the control and potential for appropriate taxation by the state. Scott emphasizes that these enhanced state functions will only serve the population if their views are taken into account. Furthermore, maintaining a nomadic lifestyle without state support will become increasingly difficult. This is because desertification and mining activities reduce the grazing land used by the nomads in Mongolia, and they need help to counteract the damage.

Live on. Large infrastructure projects will further limit available land and the possibility of moving around with large herds of cattle. Try to imagine what it would be like to cross a main road with your herd of flocks as trucks of minerals thunder past.

I hope the Mongolian government will take into account the views of the people and let the traditional way of life continue. And to you, dear reader, I can only recommend a visit to Mongolia before the nomadic culture and the vast steppes are something of the past.

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