Category Archives: Environment

What if Mongolia Went All-Organic?

Posted on December 9, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I recently re-tweeted an ADB tweet about one of their blog posts, “The Foreseeable Future of Mongolia’s Agriculture” So important to note that “#Mongolia’s agriculture […] is organic, less polluted” thus huge, high-value potential in East Asia.#yummy … Continue reading →

Posted in Cashmere, Countryside, Development, Environment, Grassland, Infrastructure, Policy, Policy, Public Policy, Regulation, Tourism | Tagged | 4 Comments

Did (Any of) My Saikhanbileg Wishes Come True?

Posted on July 20, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes In December 2014 when the first Saikhanbileg cabinet had been formed, I wrote a personal wishlist of actions I was hoping that cabinet might take. J Erdenebat was the finance minister in that cabinet. All the more … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Democracy, Democratic Party, Education, Foreign Policy, Ikh Khural 2016, Mining, Party Politics, Policy, Policy, Politics, Public Policy, Public Service | Tagged | Leave a comment

Education about Extractives to Alleviate Poverty

Posted on April 8, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes As we continue the “IMAGinE Mongolia” work on drafting a curriculum for providing basic and more advanced knowledge of the extractive sector, there are a number of challenges we’re running into in discussions with colleagues from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aimags, CIRDI, Countryside, Development, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Mining Governance, Policy, Regulation, Water | Tagged | Leave a comment

Berkeley Conference “Deadly Modernity”

Posted on March 25, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes The Mongolia Initiative at UC Berkeley’s Institute of East Asian Studies hosted a conference entitled “Deadly Modernity: The Environmental Crisis Behind Mongolia’s Swift Development” March 10-12, 2016. I don’t think anyone was tweeting from the conference, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Conferences, Countryside, Environment, Environment, Environmental Movements, Grassland, Health, Mining, Nationalism, Policy, Politics, Research on Mongolia, River Movements, Social Movements, Water | Tagged | 1 Comment

Learning about Development Policy in Uvs Aimag

Posted on December 15, 2015 by JDierkes

I just visited Uvs province in Western Mongolia for the first time and had the chance to meet with stakeholder representatives from government, civil society, small businesses, and the corporate sector to learn about their development policy. Fascinating 1st visit … Continue reading →

Posted in CIRDI, Civil Society, Countryside, Development, Mining, Policy, Policy, Regulation, Social Issues, Social Movements, Water | Tagged | 2 Comments

Policy Series: Mining Policy Failures (I)

Posted on June 2, 2015 by mendee

Mining policy is a good entry point to understand the overall policy-making processes of Mongolia. For one, mining has been one of the dominant economic sectors of Mongolia since the early 1900s.[1] Second, with extensive mining activities, mining has caused … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Mining, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Policy, Policy Series | Tagged | 2 Comments

Policy Series: Typical Explanations for Policy Failures (II)

Posted on June 2, 2015 by mendee

The following explanations are commonly offered to explain these faulty mining policies. External Factors – In the absence of major international or regional armed conflicts and threats (conventional and non-conventional), politicians often highlight two external factors – the dynamics of … Continue reading →

Posted in Policy, Policy, Policy Series | Tagged | Leave a comment

Policy Series: A Typical Quick Solution – ‘Let’s Change It’ Syndrome (III)

Posted on June 2, 2015 by mendee

In retrospect, the most common methods for dealing with policy failures have been first to blame each other – politicians, parties, factions, and civil society activists in addition to geopolitics and global economy and second to change policies without asking … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Policy, Policy, Policy Series, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolia in the 2014 Social Progress Index

Posted on April 8, 2014 by JDierkes

[This post was written jointly by Undral Amarsaikhan and Julian Dierkes] On April 2, the Social Progressive Imperative released its 2014 Social Progress Index. For the first time, this included Mongolia. The Social Progressive Index is an index of indices … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Corruption, Development, Economics, Education, Global Indices, Governance, Nomadism, Policy, Policy, Primary and Secondary Education, Research on Mongolia, Social Change, Undral Amarsaikhan, Water | Tagged | 1 Comment

Guest Post: Christopher Carter on the Role of Bag Governors

Posted on August 27, 2013 by JDierkes

This post features a new community character from Bag 4, Abu the bag governor. This summer alongside this community I experimented with a participatory planning tool that I hope to refine over the upcoming years at UBC.  Participating clans were … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Carter, Countryside, Kazakhs, Nomadism, Research on Mongolia, Water | 1 Comment

Guest Post: Christopher Carter on Kazakh Mongolians in Far West

Posted on August 13, 2013 by JDierkes

For the past month I have been living at the mountain pastures of the fourth bag of Saqai Soum in Olgii province Mongolia working on researching participatory planning and water resource development. Olgii province is home to Mongolia’s largest ethnicity, a Kazakh … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Carter, Countryside, Grassland, Kazakhs, Nomadism, Water | Leave a comment

Elbegdorj Platform

Posted on June 16, 2013 by JDierkes

[This post was researched and co-written by Brian White at The Mongolist blog.] Previous posts have offered an overview over the three candidates’ platforms, as well as of their foreign policy goals. Ten days before the election, President Ts Elbegdorj … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Democratic Party, Elections, Foreign Policy, Governance, International Relations, Policy, Presidential 2013 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Bat-Erdene Election Platform

Posted on June 12, 2013 by JDierkes

[This post was researched and co-written by Brian White at The Mongolist blog.] Bat-Erdene’s platform begins similarly to Udval’s by describing challenges facing the country. He does not go as far as Udval in labeling them as “dangers,” but the … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Environment, Inequality, Judiciary, Mining, Mongolian People's Party, Oyu Tolgoi, Party Politics, Policy, Presidential 2013, Social Media | Tagged | 1 Comment

Udval Election Platform

Posted on June 9, 2013 by JDierkes

Speculation about some kind of Udval retreat notwithstanding, based on information contributed by and co-written with Brian White at The Mongolist, we discuss Udval’s election platform here. Broad Goals Similar to the other candidates, Minister of Health N Udval intends … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Corruption, Elections, Foreign Investment, Governance, Judiciary, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Policy, Politics, Presidential 2013, Social Media | Tagged | 1 Comment

Presidential Election Platforms

Posted on June 5, 2013 by JDierkes

[This post was researched and co-written by Brian White at The Mongolist blog.] A cursory examination of the platforms of all three presidential candidates (incumbent Ts Elbegdorj, Member of Parliament B Bat-Erdene, and Minister of Health N Udval) gives the … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Democracy, Democratic Party, Education, Elections, Foreign Policy, Health, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Party Politics, Policy, Politics, Presidential 2013 | Tagged | 6 Comments