New Zealanders will help ease the fallout from another disastrous winter in Mongolia, says Associate Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Robson.

New Zealand is donating NZ$100,000 to a joint appeal from the Mongolian Government and the United Nations, following a second year of harsh winter conditions in Mongolia, known as the ‘dzud’.

‘Dzud’ is the Mongolian term for the mass starvation and death of livestock as a result of severe winter weather. The conditions are the most severe to have been experienced in Mongolia in 50 years.

"An estimated 6.6 million livestock are expected to die, representing about 20 per cent of the national herd," says Matt Robson.

"The impact on herding families and the Mongolian economy has overwhelmed officials’ efforts to cope with the problem."

The New Zealand grant will assist the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in its livestock survival project.

The funds come from the New Zealand Official Development Assistance Programme's disaster relief allocation.

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