ULAN BATOR, July 27, 2009 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday was to meet leaders of Mongolia to discuss how the poor, landlocked country exemplifies the need for nations to adapt to changes caused by global warming.

The United Nations secretary general, who arrived here Sunday, was due to see Prime Minister Sanj Bayar and President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj before giving a speech on climate change at the Government House, the parliamentary building.

The theme of Ban's visit to Mongolia is the importance of investing in helping local communities adapt to the effects of climate change so they can be more resilient in the face of extreme weather and other environmental problems.

On Sunday, he met with herders to see firsthand how their livelihoods were being hit by water shortages and desertification.

"He wants to learn from the people who are dealing with climate change. The solutions are not going to come from the scientists," Ban's spokeswoman Michele Montas told AFP.

"The solutions are going to come from the people who deal with these issues on a daily basis."

Ban's visit to Mongolia comes less than a week after rain storms triggered the worst flooding to hit the nation since 1966, according to the Red Cross.

More than 20 people died and more than 120 homes were destroyed -- a stark reminder of the extreme weather conditions that add to the woes of the country, which is one of the poorest in Asia.

Mongolia's grassland is rapidly turning into desert, the environmental ministry warned last month.

Grassland is thinning out in three quarters of the country, while seven percent has already become part of the Gobi desert.

Ban has said he will host a summit in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to galvanise support for a global deal in Copenhagen in December on "a fair, effective and scientifically ambitious new climate framework."

Negotiations to seal a climate change treaty have been dogged by disagreements over targets for cuts in carbon emissions and a fund from rich nations to help developing countries tackle climate change.

The planned treaty, due to take effect from 2013 as the successor to the Kyoto Protocol, will shape worldwide action on the issue up to the middle of the century.

Ban traveled over Mongolia's open steppe on Sunday to meet a community of nomadic herders in a region called Bayansonginot.

Inside a traditional ger, or yurt, he discussed the community's challenges with the head of the household, Mamo Batchuluun.

"We are involved in an environmental project to protect the nature of this area. We are trying to prevent desertification of the land," Batchuluun said.

The community is part of a Netherlands-funded programme that is helping them finding new sources of income, such as growing vegetables and making felt handicrafts, while preserving the grasslands.