1 MONGOLIA MARKS CENTENNIAL WITH A NEW COURSE FOR CHANGE WWW.EASTASIAFORUM.ORG PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      2 E-MART OPENS FIFTH STORE IN ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, TARGETING K-FOOD CRAZE WWW.BIZ.CHOSUN.COM PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      3 JAPAN AND MONGOLIA FORGE HISTORIC DEFENSE PACT UNDER THIRD NEIGHBOR STRATEGY WWW.ARMYRECOGNITION.COM  PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      4 CENTRAL BANK LOWERS ECONOMIC GROWTH FORECAST TO 5.2% WWW.UBPOST.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      5 L. OYUN-ERDENE: EVERY CITIZEN WILL RECEIVE 350,000 MNT IN DIVIDENDS WWW.GOGO.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      6 THE BILL TO ELIMINATE THE QUOTA FOR FOREIGN WORKERS IN MONGOLIA HAS BEEN SUBMITTED WWW.GOGO.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      7 THE SECOND NATIONAL ONCOLOGY CENTER TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN ULAANBAATAR WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      8 GREEN BOND ISSUED FOR WASTE RECYCLING WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/19      9 BAGANUUR 50 MW BATTERY STORAGE POWER STATION SUPPLIES ENERGY TO CENTRAL SYSTEM WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/19      10 THE PENSION AMOUNT INCREASED BY SIX PERCENT WWW.GOGO.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/19      КОКС ХИМИЙН ҮЙЛДВЭРИЙН БҮТЭЭН БАЙГУУЛАЛТЫГ ИРЭХ ОНЫ ХОЁРДУГААР УЛИРАЛД ЭХЛҮҮЛНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     "ЭРДЭНЭС ТАВАНТОЛГОЙ” ХК-ИЙН ХУВЬЦАА ЭЗЭМШИГЧ ИРГЭН БҮРД 135 МЯНГАН ТӨГРӨГ ӨНӨӨДӨР ОЛГОНО WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     ХУРИМТЛАЛЫН САНГИЙН ОРЛОГО 2040 ОНД 38 ИХ НАЯДАД ХҮРЭХ ТӨСӨӨЛӨЛ ГАРСАН WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     “ЭРДЭНЭС ОЮУ ТОЛГОЙ” ХХК-ИАС ХЭРЛЭН ТООНО ТӨСЛИЙГ ӨМНӨГОВЬ АЙМАГТ ТАНИЛЦУУЛЛАА WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     Л.ОЮУН-ЭРДЭНЭ: ХУРИМТЛАЛЫН САНГААС НЭГ ИРГЭНД 135 МЯНГАН ТӨГРӨГИЙН ХАДГАЛАМЖ ҮҮСЛЭЭ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     “ENTRÉE RESOURCES” 2 ЖИЛ ГАРУЙ ҮРГЭЛЖИЛСЭН АРБИТРЫН МАРГААНД ЯЛАЛТ БАЙГУУЛАВ WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     “ORANO MINING”-ИЙН ГЭРЭЭ БОЛОН ГАШУУНСУХАЙТ-ГАНЦМОД БООМТЫН ТӨСЛИЙН АСУУДЛААР ЗАСГИЙН ГАЗАР ХУРАЛДАЖ БАЙНА WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     АЖИЛЧДЫН САРЫН ГОЛЧ ЦАЛИН III УЛИРЛЫН БАЙДЛААР ₮2 САЯ ОРЧИМ БАЙНА WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/19     PROGRESSIVE EQUITY RESEARCH: 2025 ОН “PETRO MATAD” КОМПАНИД ЭЭЛТЭЙ БАЙХААР БАЙНА WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/19     2026 ОНЫГ ДУУСТАЛ ГАДААД АЖИЛТНЫ ТОО, ХУВЬ ХЭМЖЭЭГ ХЯЗГААРЛАХГҮЙ БАЙХ ХУУЛИЙН ТӨСӨЛ ӨРГӨН МЭДҮҮЛЭВ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/19    

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Events

Events

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MBCC “Doing Business with Mongolia seminar and Christmas Receptiom” Dec 10. 2024 London UK MBCCI London UK Goodman LLC

NEWS

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ICC Pre-Trial Chamber finds that Mongolia failed to cooperate in arrest and surrender of Vladimir Putin, refers matter to Assembly of States Parties www.akipress.com

Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court found that, by failing to arrest Mr Putin while he was on its territory and surrender him to the Court, Mongolia has failed to comply with the Court’s request to cooperate in this regard contrary to the provisions of the Rome Statute, ICC said.
In view of the seriousness of Mongolia’s failure to cooperate with the Court, the Chamber deemed it necessary to refer the matter to the Assembly of States Parties.
The Chamber reaffirmed that personal immunity, including that of heads of state, is not opposable before the ICC, and no waiver is required. States parties and those accepting the Court's jurisdiction are duty-bound to arrest and surrender individuals subject to ICC warrants, regardless of official position or nationality.
The Chamber highlighted that the ICC operates independently of State involvement, addressing serious international crimes. Under Article 86 of the Rome Statute, all States Parties must fully cooperate with the Court to support its mandate. The Chamber further recalled that the Court performs functions that align with the general interests of the international community by exercising jurisdiction over the most serious international crimes, which include grave breaches of fundamental norms of international law.
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Vladimir Putin: the development of project documentation for the transit gas pipeline through Mongolia has been completed www.akm.ru

The development of the design documentation for the Soyuz Vostok gas pipeline with a length of almost 1 thousand km, which will connect Russia, Mongolia and China, has been completed. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a joint statement following talks with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, according to the Kremlin's website.
The state expertise of the project is currently underway, and an assessment of its environmental impact is being carried out.
It is not only supposed to transit Russian gas through Mongolia. The possibility of gas supplies for Mongolian consumers is being considered. Gazprom is ready to provide the necessary support in practical issues of gasification of the country.
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Ulaanbaatar and UNDP Jointly Implementing Project on Supporting Renewable Energy Transition in Ger Districts www.montsame.mn

Deputy Governor of the Capital City of Mongolia in charge of the Social Sector, Green Development, and Air and Environmental Pollution Amartuvshin Amgalanbayar met with the United Nations Development Program Resident Representative Matilda Domovska on October 24, 2024.
At the meeting, Deputy Governor Amartuvshin Amgalanbayar noted that the Memorandum of Understanding between Ulaanbaatar City and the United Nations Development Program was signed in 2016 and expressed his intention to further expand cooperation within the “Supporting Renewable Energy Transition in Ger Districts for Increased Livelihood Benefits” Project jointly organized by Ulaanbaatar City and the UNDP.
Due to the adverse impact of air pollution on human health, Mongolia faces the need to transition to new renewable energy models. Through the two-phase implementation of the Project, 50 households will be provided support in purchasing and installing electric heaters and solar panels for heating purposes, which will facilitate healthy living conditions for vulnerable households, free from indoor air pollutants.
The Project “Supporting Renewable Energy Transition in Ger Districts for Increased Livelihood Benefits” will contribute significantly to the development of Ulaanbaatar City. UNDP Resident Representative Matilda Dimovska expressed her willingness to provide all-round support in strengthening bilateral cooperation to ensure the successful implementation of this Project.
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Ten Thousand Hectares of Land Damaged by Mining Extraction Rehabilitated www.montsame.mn

During his tenure as Prime Minister of Mongolia, President of Mongolia Khurelsukh Ukhnaa issued a directive to rehabilitate 8,000 hectares of vacant land damaged by mining operations in 2020-2024. President Khurelsukh visited the Nariinii Am area in Yeruu soum of Selenge aimag, on October 19, 2024, to review the progress of the given tasks.
According to the census conducted in 2020 by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia, over 30,000 hectares of land were damaged, of which more than 29,000 hectares were destroyed by mining, and 8,000 hectares had to be restored urgently.
At the time, Prime Minister of Mongolia Khurelsukh Ukhnaa made a stand against irresponsible mining, canceled 938 special licenses for mineral exploration and exploitation, charged to rehabilitate damaged areas, and set an objective of “Rehabilitating 8,000 hectares of damaged and abandoned areas due to mining operations" in the 2020-2024 Government Action Plan, reported by Office of the President of Mongolia.
Following the Joint Decree on “Organizing Unified Measures” approved by the Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia, the Minister of Environment and Tourism, the Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry, and the Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs of Mongolia, the Government of Mongolia has launched “Mining Rehabilitation-2024” activities, carrying out technical reclamation on 9,773 hectares of land and biological restoration on 2,549 hectares in 2020-2023.
Until 2020, less than 1,000 hectares of land have been restored nationwide annually. However, starting in 2020, over 2,000 hectares of land have been rehabilitated. Specifically, the land rehabilitation took place on 912 hectares in 2018, 1,973 hectares in 2020, 2,123 hectares in 2021, 2,189 hectares in 2022, and 3,488 hectares in 2023, respectively.
As part of the “Mining Rehabilitation-2024,” 57 excavators, bulldozers, gold prospecting equipment, trucks, and tools, left vacant outside the guard’s house at the Yalbag Valley of Selenge aimag, were regulated and handed over for inspection. Moreover, the environmental and economic damage caused by the degraded land was calculated. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia has reflected the technical reclamation of damaged and abandoned lands in the annual environmental management plans of enterprises and organizations with mining licenses, and this approach has proven to be effective.
As part of its social responsibility and obligation of activities in biodiversity conservation, the “Erdenet Mining Corporation” SOE has spent about MNT 42 billion to restore over 2,000 hectares of degraded land in Yeruu soum, Selenge aimag. Specifically, Erdenet Mining Corporation carried out technical rehabilitation on 1,230 hectares of land between 2022 and 2023. The enterprise undertook the responsibility of rehabilitating 777 hectares of land in 2024, with 548 hectares completed.
“Oyu Tolgoi” LLC equalized its pledge to plant 100 million trees as part of the “One Billion Trees” National Movement to land rehabilitation, in particular, the company has rehabilitated 400 hectares of land in the Yalbag Valley of Yeruu soum, Selenge aimag, and 215 hectares in Shariingol soum, Darkhan-Uul aimag.
In the future, the following actions will be taken:
-Carrying out technical and biological rehabilitation and reforestation in areas of special importance, including forest funds, water reservoir areas, and key biodiversity areas damaged by illegal mining and artisanal small-scale mining,
-Focusing on intensifying biological rehabilitation as part of the objective of "Improving the quality and oversight of mining rehabilitation, and tightening the accountability for entities that fail to perform land rehabilitation" reflected in the Government Action Program for 2024-2028,
-Taking urgent measures to rehabilitate the areas where gold mining operations took place in 1980-2010 and are unrehabilitated due to residual deposits,
-Confiscating all equipment and machinery used in illegal mineral extraction regardless of the ownership status, and developing legal regulations related to the non-use of equipment that does not meet standards,
-Not weakening regulations on environmental protection and restoration in the draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Minerals,
-Banning artisanal small-scale mining in phases,
-Establishing a system of rewarding mining enterprises and organizations that responsibly fulfill their duties to protect the environment, restore lands, and operate in an eco-friendly manner.
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Resource nationalism and political instability: Strategies for risk management www.mining.com

As global demand for minerals and raw materials increases, buoyed by the soaring of certain commodity prices, purported green ambitions, and nationalist fervour, governments have begun wielding a range of regulatory tools and sometimes strong-arm tactics against foreign mining companies in the name of resource nationalism.
The resurgence of resource nationalism—particularly in countries experiencing political upheaval, such as the “Coup Belt” in Francophone Africa—poses a major risk to the ambitions of foreign mining companies and the battery revolution. Beginning with the late Tanzanian President John Magufuli’s so-called “economic war” on foreign mining companies in 2016/2017, a number of African States have followed suit in adopting aggressive nationalistic mining policies that have frequently toed the line between legitimate economic rebalancing and outright rent-seeking.
Tanzanian beginnings
Despite more recent, legitimate efforts to improve its reputation for foreign investment, Tanzania led the way with resource nationalistic overhauls of its legal framework for mining in 2017 and 2018. Tanzania’s “economic war” has served as an exemplar to many African States, particularly in the Coup Belt, which have focused more on the electoral popularity of such measures than on their costly financial aftermath.
Tanzania’s economic war resulted in a rash of legal claims and whilst some of these claims —particularly the one brought by Barrick—settled in such a way that Tanzania could claim a purported “victory”, others have proven needlessly costly.
For instance, in 2023, Canadian gold miner Winshear Gold Corp. reached a $30 million settlement agreement with Tanzania after the government revoked Winshear’s retention licence for its SMP gold project. Similarly, subsidiaries of Australian nickel miner Indiana Resources recently obtained a $90 million settlement with Tanzania (82.5% of the total original Award) over the government’s illegal expropriation of the Ntaka Hill nickel project.
Although Tanzania is not in the Coup Belt, Tanzania’s recent experience will likely serve as a crystal ball for the region—resource nationalism and arbitrary “reforms” come at a significant cost, which could be avoided through simple negotiations rather than heavy-handed tactics.
Key risks for mining companies
Recent coups d’état across West Africa have led to the contemporary resurgence of politically popular, but fiscally irresponsible, measures adopted from Tanzania’s policy playbook, including sweeping changes to mining codes to increase government royalties and free carried interest percentages, increased export duties and the renegotiation of existing mining conventions and mineral development agreements. Such changes have caused increased permitting delays and complete legal uncertainty about how to meet regulatory requirements.
Structuring investments to benefit from BITs
Companies can effectively mitigate the risks associated with resource nationalism by structuring their investments to benefit from the protections offered by bilateral investment treaties (BITs). BITs are agreements between two or more countries that guarantee certain protections to investors, including the right to pursue international arbitration in the event of a dispute.
BITs can protect companies against unlawful expropriation and provide a legal framework for resolving disputes outside of the host country’s jurisdiction. However, investments must be structured through countries that have BITs with the host country.
In the case of Tanzania, investors like Indiana Resources and Winshear successfully pursued compensation for the unlawful revocation of their mining licenses by incorporating subsidiaries through the United Kingdom and Canada, respectively. Notably, Tanzania has recently sought to terminate its BIT with Canada, a move which forces companies to structure their investments through other countries with treaty protections, like Mauritius, whilst underlining the risk that such jurisdictions pose in the first instance.
One of the primary lessons from recent events is that foreign companies should not rely solely on their licenses and agreements with local authorities; they should also explore international legal protections like those described above.
Negotiating robust agreements
Where companies have a direct agreement with the State, they should opt for a “Coup Belt and Braces” approach in negotiating robust agreements whilst also backstopping their investments with structuring that provides access to BITs. In respect of the former option, companies must ensure that their contracts with host governments include clauses that mitigate risks related to resource nationalism, such as:
Stabilization clauses: These clauses protect investors from adverse changes in law or policy after the agreement has been signed by either freezing the regulatory framework in place or providing compensation if new laws negatively impact the investment.
Dispute resolution clauses: Companies should negotiate to include international arbitration as the preferred method of dispute resolution, allowing them to bypass local courts, which may not be impartial or reliable. The same applies for local or regional arbitration centres, which are often untested and are supervised by the very courts foreign investors may wish to avoid.
Companies should avoid putting all their resources in one region, particularly in politically unstable areas. Diversification of assets across different countries reduces the impact of political and regulatory risks in any one location. If problems arise in one country, operations elsewhere can help cushion the financial blow. Many of our clients have been able to pursue their rights in respect of one project whilst providing value to shareholders by advancing another.
Engagement with local stakeholders
Whilst building strong relationships with local communities and stakeholders can help mitigate some risks, it cannot alleviate them entirely. Sadly, there is no evidence that governments are less likely to nationalize assets if companies operating in their country are benefiting local populations through job creation, infrastructure development, and other social programs.
Nevertheless, those efforts are laudable in their own right and provide terrible optics for a state seeking to explain away its nationalization of a mining project to an international tribunal.
Operating in challenging states, particularly those prone to political instability and resource nationalism, presents significant financial and operational risks—illegal expropriation, increased taxes, and revoked licenses, to name a few.
Mitigation of those risks demands adaptability and innovative strategies and frankly, good lawyers. In the current climate, it is down to mining companies to adapt to these challenging environments for as long as states prioritize nationalism over national long-term interest, and politicians in these states favour electoral over generational gain.
Timothy Foden is partner and co-head of the international arbitration group at Boies Schiller Flexner in London. Kristen Young is partner in Washington, D.C. and Rebecca Mee is an associate in London, both specialize in disputes in Francophone Africa.
Boies Schiller Flexner represented Indiana Resources and Winshear Gold in the cases mentioned.
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Direct Flights Between Mongolia and Singapore to Begin Next Year www.gogo.mn

Minister of Culture, Sports, Tourism, and Youth, Ch. Nomin, held an official meeting with Dr. Tan See Leng, Singapore’s Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry.
During the meeting, the two sides agreed to expand cooperation in promoting sustainable tourism. They highlighted that the direct flights starting between the two countries next year will play a key role in increasing travel and tourism flow between Mongolia and Singapore. Additionally, Minister Ch. Nomin and Dr. Tan See Leng exchanged views on youth development and human resource capacity building.
At the end of the meeting, both sides agreed to collaborate on studying Singapore's experience in promoting public sports and to mutually support sports activities.
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Richard Buangan: The United State is ready to help transform Mongolia’s energy system www.gogo.mn

The American Chamber of Commerce in Mongolia hosted a discussion on "Advancing Mongolia's Energy Transition" (October 23, 2024).
This meeting discussed the Government of Mongolia's energy reform program, the goals it seeks to achieve, the opportunities, and the challenges. Specifically, the discussion focused on supporting Mongolia's efforts to advance its energy transition and explored opportunities in the renewable energy sector.
Richard Buangan, the U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia, opened the event by presenting on Mongolia's energy transition efforts and the potential for the country to develop its renewable energy sector. He praised Mongolia for its energy reform initiative and highlighted past energy sector and U.S. assistance. Also he emphasized the importance of increasing private sector involvement in the future.
"ENERGY SECURITY IS NATIONAL SECURITY"
Here are the key points from his speech:
- Overcoming their power crisis will be the new government’s first major test. And as we all know, achieving success will not be easy. The complexity of this problem is why it is so important that the government invite the private sector to take a leading role in facing this monumental challenge. At the end of the day, it will be the private sector, supported by the Mongolian government, that will lead Mongolia to achieve its energy goals and its full potential
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The business community is the key to Mongolia’s success.
- Mongolia finds itself facing its current energy crisis, one that threatens the health, safety, and economic vitality of its people. While I am confident that Mongolia can once again rise above this challenge, the question remains of what exactly must be done? What must be done for Mongolia to achieve meaningful energy reform to not only break this cycle of crisis, but transform Mongolia’s economy and infrastructure so it can power this country well into the future? The truth is, every country, including the United States, has struggled with providing adequate, clean energy for its people.
- First, Mongolia must embrace its incredible renewable energy potential. Second, Mongolia will accomplish little without letting the private sector take an active, leading role in the solution. Only by incorporating these two mindsets do I believe Mongolia can finally achieve energy independence and security. As I have said before, energy security is national security.
- Investing in clean energy allows Mongolia to escape the total dependence on coal and coal-based systems.
- The pioneers, led by innovative private companies, are beginning to implement state-of-the-art technology, such as sand battery storage systems, which provide renewable-generated heat and electricity throughout the winter. These solutions are available for Mongolia to explore, and they must be actively sought out and tested if Mongolia is to successfully achieve its energy transition.
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All it needs is to think boldly and embrace the reforms needed to realize its full potential.
- Clear regulations and a predictable operating environment will attract investors from here and abroad to invest in Mongolia’s renewable energy opportunities.
- In 2021, Uzbekistan began to embrace the private sector by enacting reforms to simplify its tax code, improve bureaucratic transparency, and incentivize foreign investment into renewable energy projects. Just three years later, that Central Asian country has over 1.5 gigawatts of renewable energy generation and has attracted $7.2 billion U.S. dollars in foreign direct investment.
- Raising tariffs is just the first step in achieving this new vision for renewables. Currently, Mongolia can only incorporate half of the renewable energy it produces because of an outdated energy grid with insufficient transmission capabilities.
- The United States and other partners are ready to help transform Mongolia’s energy system and attract the participation of private enterprise.
- The business community is the key to Mongolia’s success.
- If Mongolia can once again embrace these ideas of innovation and reform, they can harness their renewable energy potential to make obsolete the challenge of being landlocked. This dream is not unachievable, the path is open for the Mongolian people. All it needs is to think boldly and embrace the reforms needed to realize its full potential.
"NO ENERGY, NO ECONOMIC GROWTH"
The government has established a national committee led by Minister T. Dorjkhand to address energy sector issues.
At the discussion, Mongolia's Deputy Prime Minister and Chair of the National Committee for Energy Reform, T. Dorjkhand, presented the current state of the energy sector, the need for reform, and future actions. Interestingly, 100 out of 126 members of Parliament supported the formation of the Energy Reform Task Force and Committee. He highlighted Mongolia's advantage of being one of the top five countries in the world in coal reserves and second in renewable energy potential, emphasizing that the country could become an energy exporter.
Here are the key points from his speech:
- Four of the 14 mega projects planned by the Mongolian government are related to the energy sector.
- Over the past decade, due to political priorities focused on social welfare, Mongolia’s economy has stagnated with no major developments since 2012. For example, no reforms or new power plants have been implemented in the energy sector since the 1980s.
- The energy capacity shortfall is 994 MW for electricity and 1,427 MW for heating, and 22% of the country's energy is imported.
- The sector’s short-term debt is 357.2 billion MNT, while long-term debt is 820.8 billion MNT. The Ministry of Energy functions like a “welfare bank,” deeply in debt, lagging behind other sectors that should be leading in development.
- According to the World Bank, Mongolia ranks among the top five countries in coal reserves and second in renewable energy resources (solar and wind). Therefore, the country has the potential to export energy.
- Due to heavy state involvement, investment in the sector is limited, technology is outdated, and there is a constant fear every winter that the capital may freeze. This reflects the sector’s current situation.
- Energy reform aims to shift from shortages to exports, from technological backwardness to modern advancements, and from a state-controlled sector to private sector involvement.
- Key projects such as the Erdeneburen Hydropower Plant, Egiin Gol Hydropower Plant, Tavan Tolgoi Power Plant, and distributed power sources will be implemented within four years. The goal is to achieve energy independence, as energy independence is crucial to the country's overall economic policy.
- The state will not be involved in the energy sector, and only the private sector will participate. In terms of governance, an energy ecosystem will be established to attract investment and promote green financing.
- In developed countries, electricity is a "luxury." In Mongolia, it is cheap, which leads to inefficient consumption. Unlike Japan, the U.S., or the UK, Mongolia is a developing country. Living with cheap electricity and heating is a systemic issue.
- Every MNT invested in the energy sector yields a return of 4 MNT.
- The per capita GDP could reach USD 10,000 by 2028 (compared to USD 6,008 in 2023).
Key energy sector forecasts:
Electricity consumption: 2,671 MW
Ulaanbaatar’s heating consumption: 4,801 MW
The energy reform strategy includes:
Defining policies to support green energy consumption.
Establishing a legal framework that supports investment and smart technologies.
Implementing tariff reforms to eliminate losses.
Promoting transparency and reducing bureaucracy in energy sector organizations.
Improving the governance of state-owned energy companies and reducing costs.
Increasing private sector and renewable energy involvement in the energy market.
Developing an energy export strategy.
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Mongolia dragged its wild horses back from extinction – can it save the rest of its wildlife? www.theguardian.com

Hunched against the early winter chill, Dashpurev Tserendeleg points out the horses on a nearby mountain slope, while a small throng of students and tourists peer through binoculars and take pictures on their phones.
With their stocky bodies and thick necks, they resemble ponies more than horses. Known to Mongolians as takhi and to the rest of the world as Przewalski’s horse, they are the only equine breed never to be domesticated – and the fruits of one of the most successful ever wildlife reintroduction schemes.
“Horses are central to our culture. Everyone is glad to have them back,” Dashpurev says.
Hunted to extinction in the wild in the 1960s, today there are nearly 1,000 Przewalski’s horses at three sites in Mongolia, with more in China and Kazakhstan. The biggest population – numbering 423 – is in central Mongolia’s Hustai national park, the descendants of 84 animals airlifted from European zoos in the 1990s.
Each year they attract tens of thousands of visitors to this small patch of pristine mountain steppe just 100km from the capital, Ulaanbaatar.
“Before the reintroduction, nobody believed we could save this species,” says Dashpurev, who runs Hustai national park. Since then, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has downgraded the risk status of Przewalski’s horse twice: “Our biggest achievement,” he says.
The success stands in stark contrast to other parts of Mongolia. Over the past three decades, the country’s wildlife has been decimated by a combination of hunting, the climate crisis and overgrazing, with creeping desertification turning huge tracts of its vast grasslands into dust.
“Mongolia’s wildlife is in crisis,” says Tungaa Ulambayar, the local representative of the Zoological Society of London. “It is in real danger of being wiped out.”
This crisis began with the fall of the iron curtain in the 1990s, which heralded the end of Mongolia’s communist era and forced an abrupt transition to a free-market economy. The result was economic chaos, shuttered factories and mass unemployment.
“The country basically collapsed,” says Kirk Olson, an American wildlife biologist who spent more than two decades in Mongolia. “It was a free-for-all and the only resource left was the natural environment, so everyone hunted to survive. You would see cartloads of marmot skins, antlers and wolf parts in the market. Anything with four legs was sought out.”
Two saiga, a type of bulbous-nosed antelope, in Mongolia.
A group of red deer females in Hustai national park, Mongolia
Three argali, a wild mountain sheep, running in grassland
A tarbagan marmot in Hustai national park, Mongolia.
After the fall of communism in the 1990s, numbers of many species plummeted, including, clockwise from top left: saiga, a type of bulbous-nosed antelope; red deer; marmot; and argali, a wild mountain sheep
The effects were devastating. Red deer numbers plummeted from 130,000 in 1986 to just 8,000 by 2004, while the marmot population fell from 40 million to 5 million in 2002. Between 1999 and 2004, numbers of saiga, a type of bulbous-nosed antelope, dropped by 85%; and argali, a wild mountain sheep with spiral horns, fell by 75% between 1975 and 2001.
At the same time, communist-era limits on private property were lifted and livestock numbers surged. Today, the national herd stands at 71 million animals, according to the government – far outstripping the carrying capacity of Mongolia’s grasslands, 70% of which are degraded. An environment ministry spokesperson says this overgrazing could lead to the “eventual extinction of natural plants.”
“When you travel around Mongolia, you think, ‘Wow, there’s nothing out there,’” says Olson. “But actually, it’s full of domestic animals. That means less grass for wildlife, except in a few rocky crags the livestock can’t get to. Everything else gets bitten right down to the dirt.”
Even in protected areas like Hustai, livestock are causing difficulties. On a recent afternoon, a herd of 50 domestic horses could be seen grazing less than 200 metres from a group of eight wild Przewalski’s horses. Each winter, people release between 4,000 and 5,000 domestic horses in the protected area, says Batmunkh Tserennorov, a Hustai ranger. “We have to chase them off every day.”
The climate emergency is putting more pressure on the country’s wildlife. Temperatures on the Mongolian steppe are rising three times faster than the global average, bringing more extreme weather events, including droughts, flash floods and harsh winters that wipe out large numbers of domestic and wild animals.
These have particularly severe effects on species that stay in one place, such as marmots. Mobile species such as gazelles and antelopes, meanwhile, are having migratory routes cut off by new roads and railways, built to serve the vast copper and coalmines that have emerged in the southern Gobi desert over the past two decades.
Faced with this crisis, the government has launched several initiatives to conserve and replenish wild areas. In 1998, Mongolia pledged to protect 30% of its territory by 2030 – a goal adopted by 100 other countries in 2021. So far it is on 21%. Last year, the president launched a drive to plant 1 billion trees by 2030 and tough fines have had success in curbing illegal hunting.
Yet these efforts are hamstrung by a lack of funding. According to a recent study, Mongolia has by far the fewest rangers to each square kilometre of protected territory of any country in Asia. As a result, some of its conservation areas are “paper parks”, says Buuveibaatar Bayarbaatar, a scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Society. A spokesperson for the government says it was “supporting the policy of updating and improving the equipment required for the work of the rangers”.
Crucially, Mongolia has no law regulating the use of its pastureland. Introducing this legislation would be difficult but it is the most important measure needed to bring down the number of livestock and address overgrazing, says Buuveibaatar.
“The government wants to grow the economy, that’s the key thing for them, so they are putting a lot of effort into expanding agriculture and mining,” says Buuveibaatar. “Wildlife is not a priority.”
The environment ministry spokesperson says that according to Mongolia’s long-term policy plan “the national traditional customs of nature protection will be preserved,” that “economic and industrial development will be environmentally friendly” and new infrastructure projects are subject to environmental impact assessments. They added that a livestock tax was passed in 2020 to bring down the total number of domestic animals.
Olson says legal protection should apply to more areas. “There needs to be a much more integrated approach that doesn’t just focus on the protected areas, but on the whole ecosystem,” he says. “Places outside the protected areas are pretty important for wildlife, too.”
Hustai national park provides a possible conservation model. Alongside the Przewalski’s horse, it has rebounding populations of marmots, deer and gazelles.
At his office near the park’s entrance, Hustai’s wildlife biologist Dorj Usukhjargal explains the elements behind its success: long-term international partnerships, decades of scientific research and rangers who collect data alongside evicting livestock.
The Przewalski’s horse reintroduction scheme took decades of preparation, starting in 1974 with efforts to map out the genetics of the last surviving animals in captivity, and select the most robust and genetically diverse horses.
Compensation was offered to herders who lost grazing access to the area when it became a park, with funds provided by the Dutch government. Hustai national park is managed by an independent trust, rather than the government, and is free to raise its own funds. It does this by running a small camp for tourists who to come see the horses, and by charging an entrance fee.
The park is small, covering just 506 sq km (195 sq miles), compared with the 27,000 sq km of Gobi Gurvansaikhan national park, which makes it easier to patrol. Hustai is also a short drive from the capital, making it accessible to tourists, who mostly come to see the horses.
But most of Hustai’s principles could be easily applied elsewhere, Usukhjargal says. “The Przewalski’s horse reintroduction scheme is a worldwide example of how to save a large mammal,” he says. “Every country can follow it.”
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Four killed by heavy snow in Mongolia www.xinhuanet.com

Four people, including two children, were found dead after being trapped in their car by heavy snow in eastern Mongolia, the country's National Emergency Management Agency said Friday.
On Tuesday, the victims, all members of the same family, got stuck in the snow on their way back home in the countryside from Dariganga soum, Sukhbaatar Province, and their bodies were found in the car on Thursday afternoon, the emergency agency said in a statement.
Almost all provinces of Mongolia have been experiencing harsh weather conditions this winter, and around 90 percent of the Mongolian territory has so far been blanketed by snow, according to the country's weather monitoring agency.
Heavy snow and blizzards are expected to hit large parts of the country in the coming days, with an average wind speed expected to reach 18 to 24 meters per second, the weather agency said, urging the public, especially nomadic herders and drivers, to take extra precautions against possible disasters.
 
 
 
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China-made buses to hit the road in Mongolia's capital www.xinhuanet.com

Eighty-five buses manufactured by Chinese bus maker Yutong have arrived here and are being put into operation, the municipal government of the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator said Friday.
The first 35 Yutong buses were delivered to Mongolia from China in late December, and were part of the country's efforts to reform its public transport, said the municipal government.
Mongolia has planned to buy a total of 600 Yutong buses, and all remaining buses will be transported to Mongolia by February, it said.
Buses are the most popular means of public transport in Ulan Bator.
There are now more than 980 buses used for public transport in Ulan Bator, but around 60 percent of them are outdated.
Authorities hope the new buses will reduce congestion by encouraging more people to use public transportation.
For many years, traffic congestion has been a major pressing issue in Ulan Bator. The city, which was originally built to accommodate 500,000 residents, is now home to around 1.6 million people, half of the country's population.
 
 
 
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