Program on Inner Asia
Institute of Asian Research
University of British Columbia
Friday, February 17, 15:30-17h
Room 129
CK Choi Bldg for the Institute of Asian Research
1855 West Mall
UBC Campus
Dr. Christa Hasenkopf
University of Colorado
“Clearing the air: The story of the pollution crisis in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia”
For the first time in human history, we now live in a world where over half of the population resides in urban areas. The urbanization rate is highest in developing nations, in which over three-quarters of humanity lives. Over the last 30 years, Asia has seen its population double and, accordingly, its cheap energy needs skyrocket and air quality plummet. Ulaanbaatar, the engine of Mongolia’s rapidly developing economy, is a prime example of an Asian city that is experiencing rapid population and economic growth but is suffering negative environmental consequences. Due to this growth as well as its geography and climate, Ulaanbaatar has some of the world’s most polluted air in terms of particulate matter (PM) levels. This talk will describe the current air pollution crisis and its impacts in Ulaanbaatar, how it got that way, and current and future mitigation methods.
Christa Hasenkopf received her PhD in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from the University of Colorado. She is on a two-year postdoctoral study of particulate matter emissions in Ulaanbaatar, as well as performing atmospheric science outreach activities at universities and local secondary schools. Her research is done in collaboration with the National University of Mongolia and the University of Colorado and is funded by a National Science Foundation International Research Fellowship and a U.S. Fulbright grant.
“Science Communication on a Shoestring: Some Simple (and Cheap) Ways for an Individual To Expand Science Communication in a Developing Nation”
Many compelling areas of science revolve around research in developing countries. Yet, it can be difficult for scientists within developing countries to access and share existing, up-to-date information in their field. It can also be difficult for scientists elsewhere to access data and find colleagues within the country with whom to collaborate. This lack of science communication may result in fewer projects explored and international collaborations formed in developing countries. I outline a low investment, simple set of ways in which science communication can be improved on a topic relevant to a developing country, both within that country and globally, and can be initiated, in large part, by one individual’s efforts. Although there is no one set of solutions that will fit every field or country, the aim is to outline a few key points one could enact in a developing country in which they live, work, or have colleagues. These ideas have been implemented during a 2-year air quality study and outreach program I am conducting in Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar. In addition to discussing a general set of guidelines for creating a stronger infrastructure for science communication, I also show concrete examples of them performed in Ulaanbaatar over the past year on a shoestring outreach budget.
Methods & Results: Suggested methods for an individual to (cheaply) improve the infrastructure for science communication in a developing country (with results of the applied methods given as examples): (1) Create an online resource with up-to-date information on a subject in your field related to the developing country. Make it something which others can edit and update. Ex: I have created UBAirPollution.org, a wiki that coalesces all information related to Ulaanbaatar air pollution. It has been accessed more than 6000 times by over 100 cities in 31 countries within the first 6 months of its creation. Ulaanbaatar is the city that most accesses and edits the site.(2) Create a flyer describing your research area to the general public, and, if applicable, get it translated into the developing country’s primary language. Post it online, give the file to any relevant outreach groups, and have copies available for any talks you or colleagues might give. Ex: “Ulaanbaatar Air Pollution: A fact sheet” has been created, translated into Mongolian by a university student, posted online, distributed to colleagues, and handed out at outreach functions.(3) Blog about your work, and invite your collaborators to do guest posts or interviews. Ex: I maintain “Pollution Studies in Mongolia’s Capital City,” a blog on the University of Colorado CIRES website. There, I post information on air quality issues relevant to Ulaanbaatar, describe my research activities, and interview local scientists in a “Meet Mongolia’s Scientists” series.
Conclusion: I present concrete, budget-friendly ways with specific examples that have been successful in expanding science communication on a topic relevant to a developing country.
The question of whether Canada should offer bilateral development aid or not has been looming large since Canada first posted a resident ambassador in Mongolia in 2008.
I firmly believe not only that bilateral aid can continue to make a constructive contribution to Mongolian development, but also that Canada should consider where it may have particular expertise and experience to offer when selecting areas that such bilateral aid might focus on.
An article in the Globe and Mail, “CIDA funds seen to be subsidizing mining firms” on January 29 examines the apparent policy of the Conservative government to focus development aid on activities related to mining and resource extraction. This policy is seen by some to be self-serving and, worse, corporate welfare in disguise. I might generally sympathize with such criticism, but would disagree with the argument and logic in the case of Mongolia.
Development aid is being re-examined from many angles. Ian Smillie, “a long-time foreign aid watcher and critic” recently made an argument quite similar to those referenced by the G&M in a post for the Canadian International Council, esp. in its reference to the mining industry. The G&M has been examining similar arguments in its New Humanitarians series.
A brief general argument for expertise-based development aid
Yet, I believe that there is a reasonable case to be made for development projects that are focused on resource extraction and funded with (my) taxpayer’s money, namely when this is an area where particular expertise exists.
A significant mining industry and significant public expertise on the regulation of resource extraction do not co-exist in Canada by any accident, but because the mining industry is long-established and plays an important role in provincial as well as federal politics.
NGOs, government offices, academics, as well as corporations have thus developed extensive expertise on mining in Canada, expertise that would be much less prominent in donor countries with a less prominent mining sector, say The Netherlands or Denmark.
While it should be clear for what purposes (not private/corporate gain) bilateral development aid might be deployed, I believe that such aid could be offered to Mongolia and have a positive impact.
Disclosure
If bilateral aid were to be extended to Mongolia, I would have a reasonable chance at participating in aid-projects in the future, as one of the few academics in Canada who specializes in contemporary Mongolia to some extent.
I do not knowingly own any mining stock.
I am not currently a member of any political party.
Beyond the general argument for an expertise/experience-based aid program, let’s turn to the argument on Mongolia specifically.
What “Canadian” projects could benefit from aid to Mongolia?
Canada is often mentioned as the second-largest foreign direct investor in Canada. Virtually all of this investment is private investment in mining ventures. The lion’s share of this investment is tied to Ivanhoe Mines share in the giant Oyu Tolgoi project. This project and Ivanhoe’s role in it has led to a perception among many Mongolian’s that foreign investment in mining is Canadian investment in mining.
However, Ivanhoe Mines appears to be on its way out of the Oyu Tolgoi project. Rio Tinto recently acquired a majority of Ivanhoe Mines shares and is clearly calling the shots on the Oyu Tolgoi project (see Mining Weekly for an update on this topic). While Rio Tinto is linked to Canada through its Alcan aluminum venture, it is an Anglo-Australian corporation.
Even in its heyday as an investor in Mongolia, it would be a stretch to call Ivanhoe Mines a Canadian company in any aspect other than its mailing address and the location for its corporate headquarters. Ivanhoe’s driving force, Robert Friedland, is a Canadian citizen, but does not appear to spend much time in Canada, nor does he play a big role in any meaningful Canadian community nationally or locally in BC/Vancouver. In fact, for a company of its size (largely linked to the Mongolian project) Ivanhoe has virtually no public or community profile in Vancouver and has not contributed to any Canadian-Mongolian activities, projects or efforts that I am aware of.
Despite perceptions and portrayals, I thus think it’s a stretch to consider Ivanhoe Mines to be a Canadian company in any qualitatively meaningful way.
Mind you, they sure could use some help with their public profile in Mongolia which is not good.
What about other Canadian mining activities in Mongolia?
Two Ivanhoe Mines satellites, South Gobi Resources and Entrée Gold have active exploration programs and, in the case of South Gobi, are producing coal. These companies are no more meaningfully Canadian than the Ivanhoe mothership.
Uranium exploration has ground to a standstill following the difficult case of Khan Resources and its turbulent relationship with Mongolian regulatory authorities.
Centerra Gold’s Mongolian Boroo Gold unit has finished production at its Boroo mine and is not yet producing at its Gatsuurt site.
Prophecy Coal runs an operating coal mine on the Russian-Mongolian border and is developing a further coal mine that would be coupled in a very interesting way with an on-site powerplant to feed electricity into the Mongolian grid.
While Canada-based activities in Mongolia are thus quite significant in terms of their overall volume, the vast majority is tied to a single project that is not likely to be “Canadian” in the longterm (and never really was). If the Harper government had a plan to use aid to indirectly benefit Canadian mining companies, Mongolia would not be a very good place to carry this plan out as there are few companies that could benefit. I doubt that even the most crass of business-interest driven policy-makers would be eager to develop a policy that would primarily benefit Robert Friedland, perhaps one of Canada’s internationally least-popular offshore citizens.
The positive case for bilateral aid to Mongolia is thus in my mind based on a) expertise, and b) a need to counteract and balance some of the activities of a single actor, Ivanhoe Mines, which is perceived to represent Canada in Mongolia even though it is not meaningfully a Canadian company.
On January 26, 2012 Simon Wickham-Smith will be presenting a lecture on “Spiritual Ecology in Contemporary Mongolian Literature” at the University of British Columbia in UBC’s Buddhism and Contemporary Society Program.
An article in the January 21 2012 edition of The Economist vividly describes Ulaanbaatar and Oyu Tolgoi in the winter of 2012. The story that some have been telling for some years, “Mongolia is the next Eldorado” is repeated here with only some cautionary notes on Dutch disease, inflation and the like.
Some of the usual suspects when it comes to foreign views of Mongolian development, turn up in this article, like Munhkbayar of the Ongi River Movement and the Hon. Oyun. Ms Oyun especially is a wonderful interlocutor when it comes to understanding contemporary Mongolia, of course.
What I find missing in the article is the extent to which the promise of a mining boom is skewing and distorting all aspects of Mongolian development – economic, political and social.
This is the point I made when I presented at a symposium at Hokkaido University yesterday.
Take the political populism that the Economist article refers to. This is a product – in my mind – of the on-going discussion about what to do with coming mining riches in the 2000s. While political development was focused on democratization and the construction of the attendant institutions in the 1990s, the 2000s were the decade where patronage politics established itself as a product of politicians desire to join in the decision-making (and, apparently, spoils) about mining policy. Rewards for supporters and clinging to power (note the long duration of the grand DP and MPP coalition) have become the political modus operandi.
The Economist article is quite right to ask whether Mongolia will be able to “handle” the revenue streams that will be growing steadily, especially with the beginning of production at Oyu Tolgoi. Elsewhere, I’ve written and spoken about the long-term stability of democracy in Mongolia. One of the main concerns beyond Dutch disease and related macroeconomic threats is rising inequality. Currently, while the poor are not getting poorer, they are also not getting significantly less poor through the increased economic activity related to mining. Ultimately, even in a small population, not everyone will be able to work at OT, TT or any other large and small projects that might still develop. So far, the Mongolian government has primarily headed for an emphasis on transfer payments (to children, to the old, etc.) and financial stakes in mining projects (whether that is the government stake in OT or the stakes in TT that are to be distributed). Whether that will be a successful strategy in the long term to avoid unrest and to begin to think about a diversification of the Mongolian economy will remain to be seen.
Julian Dierkes
“The Central Role of Resource Policy for Mongolian Development in the Past and Coming Ten Years”
The economic, political and social development of Mongolia has come to revolve around mining policy. Decisions that are made about mining – especially the selection of partners, structure of royalty, taxation and ownership regimes, and the use and distribution of income streams – will continue to dominate political discourse and have a determinant impact on virtually all areas of social relations. In this presentation, I discuss the development of democracy, mobile pastoralism, and inequality in terms of their relationship with resource policy.
Mikiya Nishimura
“The Rhapsody of the Taiga in Mongolia: Gold and Money”
Tsaatans, the reindeer herders, have been thought to be very poor people by Mongolians. However, they are getting wealthier than Mongolian nomads. Tsaatans have started to derive income from foreign visitors and mine workers (because of having reindeers). Today, Tsaatan people are in the rhapsodic situation of much money and gold. But to make more money, they have to change the way of their living in Taiga. In this presentation, I will report some changes in the purpose of keeping reindeers and the way of seasonal migration and discuss the impact of money and gold on the livelihood of Tsaatan people.
Dalaibuyan Byambajav
“Gold Mining and the Origins and Consequences of Social Mobilization in Mongolia”
While the extensive discovery and extraction of mineral resources in Mongolia have come to dominate the national development discourse, there is an increasing public concern over the environmental and social effects of mineral extraction. Over the past decade, we have seen an apparent increase of the local conflicts over land, water sources, and the livelihood of local people and protest actions in the country. Both academic and popular writing have failed to present a nuanced understanding of the emergence and trajectories of these conflicts. By tracing the trajectory of a local protest movement (road blockade) in the Tsenkher district of Arkhangai province, I will examine the origins and consequences of anti-gold mining social mobilization in Mongolia.
Namiko Abe
“The Expansion of Insect Damage and Regeneration in the Mongolian Larch Forest Considered from Dendrochronology”
In recent years, the large-scale insect damage has become a major problem in Mongolian forests. It could be considered that the factors such as climate change and the surrounding environment facilitate the insect damage. Tree-ring analysis is used to examine the process of the decline and recovery of the Mongolian larch forests affected by the insect damage.
Ryo Takiguchi
“The Environmental Problems in Contemporary Ulaanbaatar: A Movement for the Improvement of Living Conditions in Ger-district”
Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, has experienced great changes since 1990. Examples of these changes include the population growth, the rapid rise in the market of real property, and the environmental issues such as air pollution. Ulaanbaatar has become one of the worst city of the environmental pollution in the world. This presentation focuses on a ger-district in Ulaanbaatar where a movement for the improvement of living conditions and the solutions for the environmental problems has been facilitated by the Government of Mongolia and international aid organizations.
Chifumi Ono
“Land Use and Contemporary Pastoralists in Northern Mongolia”
Both settled-pastoralists and mobile-pastoralists have used a valley as their common land throughout the year in a village located in the north of Ulaanbaatar. However, little is known about how these pastoralists manage their common land. We conducted interviews among the pastoralists in August, 2011. In this presentation, I will discuss the actual situation of land-use in the valley and the problems resulting from the interaction between settled-pastoralists and mobile-pastoralists.
Shin Miyazaki
“Long-term Hydrometeorological, Ecological and Dendrochronological Monitoring over the Larch Forests on the Permafrost in Northern Mongolia”
To clarify the heat, water carbon exchange process and dynamics by comprehensive approach, we started long term monitoring of the eddy-correlation based flux observations, the hydro-climatic observations, the phonological camera monitoring and sap flow measurement at the 25-m height tower and forest around the tower in the Udleg (48 15’43.7” N, 106 50’56.6”E, altitude: 1264m) over the larch forest in Research Forest of NUM in northern Mongolia since 2009. We’ve also carried out the tree-ring observation to get the stand history (age, growth rate, fire, drought etc.) and dendrometer observation to get the diameter growth of larch trees.
Mamoru Ishikawa
“Representing and Enhancing Environmental Literacy to Share Knowledge – The Changing Environment of Mongolia”
Environmental literacy means the ability to appropriately read and utilize environmental information, to anticipate rebound effects, and to adapt according to information about environmental resources and system and their dynamics. This would be a key concept to share knowledge between societies and scientists in the context of potential human-environmental system to function and evolve in a sustainable manner. Under this framework I would like to provide the matter of arguments for sustainable Mongolian socio-natural environments.
Tye Ebel is a member of the 2010/2011 cohort in the Master of Arts Asia Pacific Policy Studies at the University of British Columbia. While at the University of British Columbia, he focused heavily on sustainable tourism development and promotion, with a secondary focus on international trade. As the capstone requirement for his degree, Tye spent 10 weeks working at the Mongolian Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism, where, among other things, he produced a report on the state of sustainable tourism in the country.
An Overview of the Mongolian Tourism Industry and Obstacles to Maximizing Its Potential
The Mongolian tourism industry has undergone significant changes in the past few decades. Throughout the socialist period the industry was controlled by the state owned Juulchin, which catered almost exclusively to tourists from the former Soviet Bloc. Following the political transformation in the early 1990s, a variety of new industry stakeholders began to emerge while changes to the country’s immigration policy in 1998 saw a spike in international visitors. Western Europeans, North Americans, Japanese and Koreans quickly emerged as the primary leisure tourists and the government began to advocate a policy focusing on high quality and low volume. Meanwhile, numerous international development agencies began to address tourism, hoping to transform it into one of Mongolia’s major growth industries.
Unfortunately, despite attempts by countless hard-working individuals both in Mongolia and internationally, the tourism industry has failed to realize its potential. International recognition of Mongolia as an attractive tourism destination remains low and accurate data on tourist numbers, expenditures, expectations and impressions that could be crucial to improving the industry is lacking. Additionally, the country suffers from significant seasonality resulting in an influx of visitors during the summer months that place strain on the country’s infrastructure and a dearth of visitors during the cold winter months. This in turn increases the cost of tourism products and reduces the attractiveness of careers in tourism. As a result, the industry is suffering from a significant lack of well-trained human resources.
A unified effort by the industry’s stakeholders could significantly improve the country’s international recognition, the quality industry data, the degree of seasonality, and the shortfall in human resources. Sadly, there is a lack of communication and cooperation between the various public, semi-public, and private organizations that have been created to develop and promote the industry. The public sector, represented by the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism has focused most of its attention on supporting Mongolian participation in international trade conventions while advocating for the development of large, capital intensive tourism complexes. Although the ministry has attempted to better engage the private sector, it has not been overly successful. The publicly owned Mongolian National Tourism Center and a variety of private organizations, meanwhile, raise a mixture of public and private funds to pursue individual and often redundant projects. This inefficient duplicity of effort seems to be driven by a lack of communication and trust amongst stakeholders. The result has been that the industry lumbers forward without an efficient and unified plan or objective. At the same time, international development agencies such as USAID are beginning to distance themselves from the tourism industry as they focus more and more on the mining sector.
The situation is not entirely bleak though. Individual companies and small-scale development projects have made significant strides toward creating high value added products that promote environmental and socially sustainable tourism development. If the industry can build off of these success stories and unite behind a single brand image while reducing the duplicity of effort that currently holds it back, then it has real potential for significant, high value growth.
An inter-disciplinary symposium on Nature, Human, and Mining in Contemporary Mongolia will be held at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan on January 20, 2012. This symposium will bring together scholars from diverse areas of expertise (both natural and social scientists) to promote sharing of knowledge and expertise from the field study on the human-nature relationship in contemporary Mongolia.
The guest speakers for the symposium are Julian Dierkes and Mikiya Nishimura. Proffessor Julian Dierkes will talk about the central role of resource policy for Mongolian development in the past and next 10 years. Mr. Mikiya Nishimura, the president of North Asian Culture Exchange Center-SHAGAA, a nonprofit organization, will talk about his field research among the Tsaatans, reindeer herders in Huvsgul, and the impact of gold mining on the livelihood of the local people.
Program of the symposium
Date: 13:00-17:00, January 20, 2012
Place: D102, Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University
Julian Dierkes (Associate Professor and Coordinator, Program on Inner Asia, University of British Columbia）
“The Central Role of Resource Policy for Mongolian Development in the Past and Coming 10 Years”
Mikiya Nishimura (President, North Asian Culture Exchange Center – SHAGAA)
“The Rhapsody of the Taiga in Mongolia: Gold and Money”
Dalaibuyan Byambajav （PhD Candidate, Sociology, Hokkaido University）
“Gold Mining and Origins and Consequences of Social Mobilization in Mongolia”
Discussion
14：20～14：30 Coffee Break
14：30～15：30 Part 2： City and Suburbs
Namiko Abe (Graduate student, Environmental Science, Hokkaido University)
“The Expansion of Forest Pest Damage and Regeneration in the Mongolian Larch Forest Considered from Dendrochronology”
Ryo Takiguchi (Part-time lecturer, Hokusei Gakuen University)
“The Environmental Problems in Contemporary Ulaanbaatar: A Movement for the Improvement of Living Conditions in Ger-district”
Chifumi Ono (PhD student, Environmental Science, Hokkaido University)
“Land Use and Contemporary Pastoralists in Northern Mongolia”
Discussion
15：30～15：40 Coffee Break
15：40～16：30 Part 3：Nature
Shin Miyazaki (GCOE Assistant Professor, Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University)
“Long-term Hydrometeorological, Ecological and Dendrochronological Monitoring over the Larch Forests on the Permafrost in Northern Mongolia”
Mamoru Ishikawa (Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University)
“Representing and Enhancing Environmental Literacy to Share Knowledge – The Changing Environment of Mongolia”
The Democratic Party (DP) left the Coalition Government, now the Mongolian People’s Party will remain in power until the parliamentary elections in June. The DP’s decision is connected to its preparation for the election, but it indicates power struggle within the DP, decay of the government bureaucracy, and new patterns of Mongolian politics.
The National Governing Committee of the Democratic Party officially declared the end of the Coalition Government with the Mongolian People’s Party yesterday, January 11, 2012. This decision was expected by many, but the coalition had survived until MP Kh. Battulga’s candid interview, which revealed the true internal dynamics of the coalition government.
At the National Governing Committee meeting, while DP Chairman Altankhuyag, who served as the #2 in the coalition government and other DP cabinet ministers boasted the 82 percent of the Coalition Government Action Plan, MP Kh. Battulga again criticized the false statements by the DP Chairman and other ministers. Battulga served as the Cabinet Minister for Road, Transportation, Construction and Urban Development and wholeheartedly pushed the industrialization plan by capitalizing on mineral exploitation. Although Battulga’s frustration with the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the Coalition Government and criticism of the DP Chairman could be explained as political tactics toward upcoming election or a move for the DP Chairman post, he seems to be pointing out the institutional deficiencies of today’s Mongolian bureaucracy.
Even though the DP Chairman Altankhuyag stated in his speech that the DP fulfilled its historic tasks for the nation while collaborating with the MPP, one could hardly see any decision beyond the Oyu Tolgoi mining deal with Ivanhoe and Rio Tinto. The government again passed the most inefficient budget, which allotted several million tugrugs for MPs to spend on their electoral districts and failed to finalize the Tavan Tolgoi mining deal. The government had not done much on many other plans of the Coalition Government. Just a month ago, the DP Chairman was declaring his firm stance on the Coalition Government until the election, but within one week, he gave up. This demonstrates how internal power rivalries in the DP have intensified as the election nears.
The disintegration of the DP and MPP, two major political forces, potentially provides opportunities for other political parties to compete in the upcoming election. Apparently, the DP will not oppose the continuation of the MPP government – even promised to pass their nominees replacing the DP cabinet members quickly. The MPP will now certainly use its advantage of running the government until the parliamentary election in June, 2012. All failed programs of the Coalition Government will be subject to a political ‘blame game’ between the two parties. Although the revised election law could be certainly considered the best, its effectiveness will depend on the enforcement.
Although the parties are not making ‘cash transfer’ promises under the revised Election law, now they are promoting “Mongolian Person – 2020” by DP and “2030” dream plans. Will they be false promises as many earlier political party slogans?
Above all, the end of the ‘non-standard’ coalition will come again – may become a familiar pattern of Mongolian politics because the political institutions, which set under the 1992 Constitution, have many flaws. One of which is inefficient decision-making mechanism and disintegrated political institutions that will never be fully accountable for the people. Rather the system will consolidate more web-like informal networks among politicians and business entrepreneurs. Because the formal institutions face frequent “no-go”, only charismatic political entrepreneurs like Bayar and now likely Battulga (as would-be) introduce the political innovations (as we, Mongolians, coin ‘non-standard’ decisions) using the informal networks. This ‘non-standard’ pattern of integration and disintegration of the Mongolian political forces seem to continue until the formal institutions are fixed and followed.
The 10th International Congress of Mongolists met Aug 9-13 2011 in Ulaanbaatar and I was privileged to have been invited to attend and was able to do so with some help from the Canadian Dept of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
The fact that I had been invited to participate makes me feel like a bona-fide Mongolist, even though the ride from the airport made it blatantly clear that my Mongolian has deteriorated from the simple conversational level that it had previously achieved. At least, I still seem to be understanding enough snippets of sentences.
First two things to notice about the Congress: a) how international it is, and b) best conference swag ever.
International Mongolian Studies
The conference is somewhat dominated by academic and cultural links to Russia. The organizers very usefully provided a facebook (including a photograph) of participants, and the Russian section was by far the largest.
Many of the affiliations listed there were to various levels of Academies of Science, many of which I have never quite figured out in their meaning (“corresponding member”). Clearly, there are people who specialize in various forms of research on Mongolia throughout Russia and Russian academic institutions. Other languages and countries were also well-represented, however, both European as well as Asian, while the N American contingent is relatively small.
Conference Briefcase
Many N American conferences now give registrants a very cheap briefcase with some kind of logo printed on it. These are generally useless. They are generally cheap and shoddily made so even if you wanted to use them, you couldn’t use them for long, but they are also generally of such a small format that they are not useful (the AAS tote bag is a notable exception).
For the Congress, however, participants have received a beautiful blue leather bag with the logo of the congress hand-embroidered on it. This is a bag that I will be delighted to use as it also seems reasonably well-made.
Focus of Discussions
I was somewhat shocked to find how philological the Congress was. From my perspective, the short walk from the Bayangol Hotel to the National University offers enough topics of pressing importance in contemporary Mongolia to a whole army of dissertation writers. Yet, most presentations at the Congress were either historical or linguistic. I suspect that this is a function of the strong Russian presence and also of the focus of research in the Academies of Science. In the end, this left me somewhat dissatisfied, however. As interesting as especially the early history of Inner Asia is – populated with various kingdoms and peoples that are only known to specialists now -, my interests are focused entirely on contemporary Mongolia and these interests were somewhat underserved by the presentations in the Congress.
The Congress was a tour de force in terms of languages, however. Presentations were given in English, Mongolian, and Russian and these were generally mixed within panels. My non-existent Russian meant that there was at least one presentation per panel that I missed out on entirely. Given the strong Russian flavour, most questions to the Russian presentations came in Russian and I thus lost out on that discussions as well.
Among the presentations on contemporary Mongolia, there was a strong contingent of political economists, political scientists and international relations specialists. Among these, a number were not particularly focused on Mongolia, but instead discussed Northeast Asia more generally, or Asian security relations.
While I did see a number of friends and Mongolia scholars whom I’ve known for longer, there were some individuals and groups that were notably missing, for example the entire Cambridge group.
Best Program Typo Ever
Elizabeth Endicott (Middlebury College) whom I also know through our mutual involvement in the American Center for Mongolian Studies, presented very interesting research on the on-going changes to pastoral herding practices in Mongolia. This presentation was announced in the Congress program as “Pastoral Nomadic Nerding in Twenty-first Century Mongolia”. It’s the nomadic nerding lifestyle that I also aspire to myself. 😉
Dr. N. Bolor
Freelance Consultant, Toronto, Canada
Formerly Associate Professor, National University of Mongolia and Policy Analyst, Mongolian National Mining Association
We started this blog in July 2011 based on the numerous conversations that Byambajav Dalaibuyan, Mendee Jargalsaikhan and I were having about Mongolia around the office at the Institute of Asian Research at UBC. It has been a great way to put some of those conversations down in pixels and to share them with readers.
And readers we’ve had… Over 1,200 unique visitors to the site have added up to over 5,000 page views. In the average over 3 min that people visit the blog, they read 2.3 pages on average. Not surprisingly, visitors from Canada and Mongolia are our most frequent readers. About a third of traffic comes from referrals which seems relatively high compared to other sites, while keywords seem to generate relatively less traffic.
FAQ Mongolia: Some Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions on (Mining) Policy
Supported by
Presentation Summary
How Have Recent Policy Shifts in Mongolia Shaped Environmental Management in the Mining Sector?
Kirsten Dales
Uniquely situated between the Siberian Taiga, Central Asian Steppe and Gobi dessert, Mongolia’s iconic landscapes support incredible biodiversity and a distinctive culture strongly tied to the land. Traditionally, as a pastoral centric nomadic herding society dependent upon fragile grasslands, Mongolian herders migrated their herds to allow for revegetation of recently grazed areas to maintain ecosystem function and sustain future generations. These age-old practices serve as simple but effective approaches to environmental conservation, which, is deeply embedded, in Mongolian national identity. Contemporary environmental management however faces new and complex challenges with the rapid expansion of the mining sector and adapting to the adverse effects of climate change.
Resource rich developing nations such as Mongolia face a number of difficult issues to overcome the ‘natural resource paradox’ and to identify environmental priorities in the wake of rapid economic development. Global commodity markets can swing creating uncertainty in revenue streams and unstable, corrupt or limited capacity of government institutions can fail to implement effective environmental management strategies leading to land degradation, water pollution and scarcity, biodiversity loss, increased vulnerability of rural populations, conflict, and particularly in the context of Mongolia, the loss of cultural heritage which is inextricably linked with ecosystem health.
Policy in Mongolia has faced a number of challenges since emerging from behind the iron curtain, adjusting to a market economy and adopting democracy as a parliamentary republic in 1990. Environmental management is not as the name would suggest, managing the environment but taking action to manage the adverse impacts on human societies on natural systems and this constitutes a difficult task even for stable democracies of developed nations. Environmental policy and management approaches in Mongolia have been shaped by policy shifts and proximate geopolitical influences of Russia and China, as well as resource demands of the global market place. Although at times viewed as politically unstable, in the context of environmental policy Mongolia has seen a devolution of environmental responsibility from central powers to local aimag (province) and soum (village) administrations, indicating a trend towards more decentralized approaches, supporting environmental mainstreaming.
Surveying the political landscape in the context of mining, the Mongolian government focused to a large degree on encouraging foreign investments and enabling trade, particularly in the 1990s. The National Environmental Action Plan of 1995 implemented 14 Environmental laws significant in the communicating the message of environmental values but, alas, were weakly enforced and lagged behind the rapidly expanding mining sector leading to widespread environmental degradation from the formal and informal mining sectors. In following years, a number of additional laws were passed aimed at more strict enforcement, increased administrative and civic liability, and development of a more conducive legal, economic and institutional environment for the sustainable use of natural resources.
The Mongolian Minerals Law of 1997 drew on western mining models and was regarded at the time as the most foreign investor friendly mining policy in Asia. By investors it was considered to be progressive, internally consistent and effective but there were weaknesses in relation to environmental responsibilities. This greatly improved the legal climate for direct foreign investment by clearly defining legal regulations and simplifying the mining licensing process while reducing royalty and exploration fees.
In 1998 the enactment of the Environmental Impact Assessment law reflected international policy norms of EIAs in the mine licensing process and at the same time the Ministry of Nature and Environment instigated a stronger push towards decentralized control to the aimag, soum and bagh level. This can be viewed as an important step in the right direction and emphasizes the intent on adopting international best practices however some feel this law lagged the rapid development which had already taken place in the extractive mineral sector.
Controversial legislative changes arrived in 2006 with amendments to the Minerals Law. The 2006 Law reserved some of the substance of 1997 version, but contained new provisions reflecting a shift towards resource nationalism providing for State entitlements and increasing potential for political interference. The legislative reform weakened rights and security of mineral titleholders in Mongolia and was criticized by investors for lack of detail and clarity in a number of articles. Uncertainty still exists as to how a number of important provisions will be interpreted and applied in particular around provisions surrounding concept of ‘Deposits of Strategic Importance’. This provision allows the government to designate certain deposits as strategic and demand a particular share with limited recourse for the mining industry and was not well received by investors. Further, the imposition of a 68% Wind Fall Profit Tax destabilized direct investment sending a strong message that times were indeed changing in Mongolia’s ‘wild west’ gold rush era paralleled to that of the 1800’s in North America.
The Mongolian Nature Protection Civil Movements Coalition (MNPCMC) and the Mongolian Environmental Civil Council (MECC) were formed in 2008 with the goal of advancing cooperation across environmental NGOs and to engage with the government. The vocal and instrumental River Movement groups focused on the serious issued of water pollution and over use associated with mining and a number of other NGOs continued to promote environmental advocacy and demand increased accountability. These organizations were seen as instrumental in the creation of the 2009 Law on the Prohibition of Minerals Exploration in Water Basins and Forested Areas, also known as the law with the long name.
This law is particularly of consequence as it suspended mining near headwaters of rivers, in sensitive riparian habitats and in protected forest areas. Cancelled licenses were not however released from their duty to rehabilitate the environment and must be completed within 2 years under the monitoring of Local governors and citizens emphasizing decentralized environmental co-management and public inclusion.
This law is not without its problems however, as the Government is required to pay compensations to the mineral license holders whose licenses were cancelled, but a mechanism to enable this has yet to be developed or implemented. Further, this law is seen as inconsistent by a number of actors as although some licenses were revoked, a number that breached the conditions outlined in the law were allowed to continue operations. Further, this law does not apply to ‘Deposits of Strategic Importance’, for which, the criteria and decision making process remain vague and may hypothetically create a loophole for specific mining areas.
Although the ‘Law with the long name’ was seen as a breakthrough for the environmental movement, mixed signals were sent as the highly publicized Oyu Tolgi mega mine project, thought to be the largest copper-gold mine in the world, was finally signed. In addition, an announcement was made that the Wind Fall Profit Tax was to be reversed in 2011 seen as a move to again promote foreign investment but left some wondering what the future would hold for the Mongolian sector.
As a consequence of the rapidly shifting legislative frameworks and number of unknowns, mining companies are obliged to cope with an unstable investment climate, inadequate infrastructure and limited financial and human resources of local administrations in charge of environmental management, thus the adoption of the principals of responsible mining practices may not constitute as a priority nor does the implementation of environmental rehabilitation efforts or civic engagement. While a limited number of mining companies have taken the lead in developing best practices in land reclamation, environmental rehabilitation and integrating community engagement into the process, supported by the ‘Law with the long name’, most companies have yet to make concerted efforts in these areas.
As of 2011 approximately 6,300 exploration and mining licenses have been issued in Mongolia covering approx 32% of the country. Historically due to its vast size and with the lowest population density in the world, Mongolia has always faced difficulties with enforcing regulations on the mining industry largely attributed to a lack of resources and overlapping areas of institutional responsibility. Although arguably in place, Mongolian environmental policy has been viewed as reactionary and inconsistent however, it must not be forgotten that progress is being made albeit not fast enough for some … and perhaps to fast for others.
The increasingly prevalent role of CSOs and Environmental NGOs in environmental advocacy and management approaches at the local level are linked to policy reform and reflected in recent legislative revisions indicating a positive trend towards strengthening the capacity of natural resource and environmental management. However with that said, the process is an imperfect one and a number of issues with institutional capacity, legislative enforcement and accountability remain. Looking ahead, the nexus of tripartite engagement between Government, Industry and civil society that will be required to support sustainability in the mining sector, if that can in fact come to fruition depends not only on social responsibility but a continued commitment to environmental sustainability that hopefully will become more then just a normative concept in this unique and vast Asian nation.
Video Recording of the Presentation
6’28” – 20’45”
About Kirsten Dales
Kirsten Dales is a Masters of Science Candidate studying Environmental Management and at Royal Roads University in Victoria BC. She has worked as a researcher for Duke University, Dartmouth College and the University of California Irvine in environmental science. Ms. Dales has been involved in environmental conservation projects in Nepal and most recently as an Independent researcher with the Engaging Stakeholder for Environmental Conservation (ESEC) project with The Asia Foundation in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
FAQ Mongolia: Some Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions on (Mining) Policy
Presentation Summary
Supported by
What role are environmental movements playing in Mongolia’s civil society?
D. Byambajav
Environmental movements are an organized expression of heterogeneous concerns over environmental risks and problems. The institutional core of the environmental movement is a network of organizations, activists, and supporters that share concerns. This inclusive approach allows us to look at environmental movements as networks of like-minded NGOs, individual activists, journalists, and political actors in Mongolia. The Mongolian government’s neoliberal economic policy and its weakness has resulted in unorganized expansion of mining that threatens the natural environment and local livelihoods. Local movement organizations opposing local mining operations (primarily gold mining) have emerged as important actors in environmental politics in Mongolia. While I focus on these movement organizations in this talk, I will also present other crucial actors in environmental activism.
NGOs
Although official statistics in Mongolia show that there are more than 500 environmental NGOs, about 20 percent of these organizations might actually exist. Until recently, environmental NGOs were dominated by scientists and ecologists. In recent years, especially since the mid-2000s, this situation has been changing due to the active involvement of grassroots organizations and activists. In addition, some domestic and international NGOs that previously worked in different issue areas have turned their attention to environmental problems.
Movement organizations
The Ongi River Movement has become the most popular environmental organization in Mongolia over the past decade. In 2006, the Homeland and Water Protection Coalition was established by eleven local movement organizations. Local movement organizations grew out of environmental problems caused by mining operations in specific local areas, but the formation of a coalition enabled them to transcend localism and frame the solution of local problems broadly. Since 2008, these movements have organized campaigns to ban mining operations in headwater areas and water basins. After a series of direct actions including hunger strike organized by the movements, the Mongolian parliament passed a law that prohibits mining operations in headwater areas, river basins, and forest zones in July, 2009.
News media
There have been prominent journalists who were a strong voice for the environment. In the late 1980s, a newspaper article written by Ts. Baldorj, a founder of Today newspaper, about the environmental effect of the extraction of phosphor deposits in the area surrounding Lake Huvsgul stirred public outrage, which led the government to revoke its plans. Besides environmentally conscious journalists, the diversity of Mongolia’s media outlets provides a good opportunity for environmental debate. The role of the media including social media was crucial in protest campaigns against rumored talks on building a nuclear waste dump in Mongolia
Political parties
A “green group” was established by a small group of MPs in 2009 as a loose coalition of environmentally conscious parliamentarians to consider the environmental side effects of mining operations in general and big projects such Ouy Tolgoi and Tavan Tolgoi in particular. Some members of the group played key role in the passage of the “law with a long name.” Its prominent members are D. Enkhbat, B. Bat-Erdene, and G. Bayarsaikhan. The Green Party of Mongolia was established in 1990. In 2008, its candidate won a seat in the parliament for the first time (perhaps, for the first time in Asia). Until recently, the green party has been a weak voice for the environment, but representation in parliament and increasing public concern about environmental issues put it in a better position.
Recent debates over the “law with a long name” between the business community and environmental movements in Mongolia suggest that networks of these four types of actors are able to create a strong coalition if their concerns and interest intersect.
FAQ Mongolia: Some Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions on (Mining) Policy
Supported by
Presentation Summary
How to Improve Governance in Mongolia?
Hon. Jim Abbott PC
The “Mongolian Vision”
Developing countries must work through two challenges. Their civil service capacity and expertise must be strengthened to address budgetary and financial oversight demands that come from their expanded economies.
Concurrently, accountability of parliamentarians, and their financial and regulatory roles must be reflected in their nation’s parliamentary processes.
The bad news: Transparency International’s 2011 Corruption Index ranked Mongolia as 120th in the world. The good news: Mongolian bureaucrats and politicians have been working with Canadians on these challenges for more than two years and we’ve responded at the highest level.
Prime Minister Harper and Mongolian Prime Minister Batbold witnessed the signing of an MOU September 2010 in Ottawa. The Canadian Standing Committee On Foreign Affairs held hearings and issued a unanimous report in support of the Prime Minister’s initiative.
The Civil Service Council of Mongolia (CSC) and the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) have laid down a basis of cooperation between public service institutions of the two countries. Detailed work began in Mongolia in January this year.
The PSC developed a draft project document and work plan that included strengthening good governance practices in Mongolia. The PSC introduced Canada’s experience in developing merit-based, non-partisan public service.
Prime Minister Batbold wrote, “The Government of Mongolia is fully committed to this cooperation which would play an important role in strengthening democracy and promoting public service reforms in Mongolia.”
Also, Mongolian President Elbegdorj accepted a Canadian invitation for his staff to work on the project in separate sessions in both countries.
That’s noteworthy because there is structural tension in the Mongolian governance model. The tension is compounded with the Prime Minister and President leading competing political parties.
There have been continuous joined working sessions between Mongolians and Canadians in Ulaanbaatar and Ottawa involving the most senior bureaucrats in the PSC and CSC.
Mongolians have observed our Canadian model “on the ground” in order to help implement civil service reform in Mongolia.
Today, most of the bureaucratic work has been completed and the necessary Mongolian legislation is well advanced. The next action will be passage of the legislation through the Mongolian parliament.
Mongolians comprehend this reality as witnessed by the composition of their delegation to Canada in May. They had both the political and bureaucratic sides of their government represented. I engaged an advisor to the Mongolian PM and a Mongolian MP. They understand the entire excellent product expertly created could simply languish.
In 2010, the Secretary General of the Parliament of Mongolia officially requested the assistance of the Canadian Parliamentary Centre in Ottawa to conduct training for newly elected parliamentarians. They also want to strengthen the capacity of professional staff to assist parliamentarians.
The Parliamentary Centre is a Canadian non-partisan, non-government organization that has more than 43 years of experience in strengthening parliaments worldwide. It has worked in more than 45 legislatures with the support of a variety of funders and is recognized globally as a leader in its field.
The Centre helps parliaments to build and strengthen the capacity to pass laws focused on the improvement of government accountability, transparency and fight with corruption as well in building the capacity to oversee the way governments are using public funds. This includes revenues from extractive industries.
By happy coincidence, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has identified Mongolia and Vietnam as their countries of focus for their efforts to sign up private sector corporations to their Partnership Against Corruption initiative (PACI). I recommend that you review the WEF initiative on their website.
Canadian businesses are serious about developing mineral and other assets in a responsible manner. They are looking for the Mongolian government to operate with a clear process and a level playing field.
In spite of all this good news let’s be clear. Public Service reform will not necessarily be an easy project.
Notwithstanding the official good will, where corruption may be endemic and seriously entrenched into some levels of the Public Service, there will be significant push back to upgrading and professionalizing the service.
Momentum will continue with the following initiatives:
Incremental improvements in legislation – Mongolians cannot go from where they are to a western style apolitical professional public service in a single bound.
Implementation of the legislation – There will need to be trainers and other people in place to implement the transition.
Creation of an independent Mongolian assessment body to report on progress.
Appropriate parliamentary oversight needs to be in place.
Companies in this room can play an important part. To secure funding from Canadian funding agencies the Canadian Parliamentary Centre is researching and developing a detailed proposal for further action.
Because the Parliamentary Centre is a non-partisan, non-government organization, we will are looking for partners to assist with the initial research that will accurately identify the most expeditious steps forward.
I thank you for your attention. We are here today because we share the Mongolian vision.
Video Record
1:33’08’ – 1:46’08”
Aboutthe Honourable Jim Abbott, P.C., Member of Parliament, Canada (Retired)
Initially elected to the House of Commons in 1993, Jim Abbott retired from the Canadian Parliament May 2, 2011. Mr. Abbott was the Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of International Cooperation.
October 15, 2007 Mr. Abbott was called by The Right Honourable Prime Minister Stephen Harper to serve on the Privy Council to her Majesty the Queen.
MP Abbott is fully engaged with the political realities of the “Mongolian Vision”.
Mr. Abbott sat on the Foreign Affairs and International Development Standing Committee, and the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan.
