Leader of Mongolia’s ultra-nationalist group arrested www.news.mn

The leader of Mongolia’s ultra-nationalist group, ‘Bosoo Khukh Mongol’ was arrested in Uvs Province on 25 September for violating the rights of transgender people. The court decided to jail G.Gankhuyag, the leader of the right-wing organization for 30 days.

New project in agricultural sector to commence in 2020 www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. The document of a project ‘Formulation of master plan on the agricultural value chain’ was signed today by officials of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry (MOFALI), National Development Agency (NDA) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Mongolia's growth to ease to more sustainable levels in 2019 and 2020 — ADB www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Mongolia’s economic growth is expected to moderate but remain solid in 2019 and 2020 as the country moves to a more sustainable growth path.

Today, September 25, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Deputy Country Director for Mongolia and Senior Country Economist Declan Magee presented Mongolia's economic outlook.

In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2019 Update, the ADB projects Mongolia’s economic growth at 6.7% in 2019 and 6.1% in 2020, from the 7.2% growth rate recorded in 2018. ADO is ADB’s flagship annual economic publication.

Growth in the first half of 2019 was boosted by strong domestic demand and expanding mining and construction sectors. The remainder of the year will see growth easing due to lower demand in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and import growth fueled by domestic demand, according to the report.

“Economic growth was faster than expected in the first half of 2019,” said ADB’s Country Director for Mongolia Ms. Yolanda Fernandez Lommen. “Mongolia’s growth prospects continue to be positive going into 2019 and 2020, although slowing growth in the PRC will have an impact on Mongolia’s export sector. Should the government build on the strong macroeconomic performance since 2017, this will help sustain investor confidence and improve macroeconomic stability. Mongolia remains vulnerable to external shocks, particularly in the commodity sector, so sensible macroeconomic policies that allow the country to build up buffers will help reduce Mongolia’s vulnerability to boom-bust cycles going forward. Structural reforms, particularly in the banking sector, remain important, and using this high growth period to address these issues would make sense.”

Apart from domestic demand, foreign direct investment continues to play an important role and this is set to continue. Services will continue to be important to growth, while agriculture is expected to continue its recovery.

Average inflation rose by 8.1% year on year in June and will average 8.5% in 2019 due to rising domestic demand and higher food prices. These effects will be less pronounced in 2020, allowing inflation to ease to 7.5%. The current account deficit narrowed to 10.2% in the first half of 2019 and import demand will mean that it will widen further in 2020. The budget recorded a surplus of 4.7% of gross domestic product in the first half of 2019 and credit expansion eased with the growth of newly issued loans remaining moderate at 5.0% in the first 6 months. Nonperforming loans climbed to 10.6% of total outstanding loans.

Mongolia remains vulnerable to external shocks, particularly in mineral price fluctuations or the impact of lower growth in the PRC. Domestically, potential disruption to the finalization of bank recapitalization program, as agreed under the International Monetary Fund program, poses risks.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

Source: Asian Development Bank

Mongolian mining boom threatens traditional herding www.phys.org

Exploring the vastness of Gobi Desert in the 13th century, Marco Polo proclaimed it to be filled with "extraordinary illusions." Today, Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world's largest copper-gold mines, rises among Mongolia's traditional herding lands, shimmering like an illusion across the steppe's treeless, grassless plains.

Mineral-rich Mongolia, labeled "the next Qatar" by The Economist, is experiencing an unparalleled mining boom. But as mega-mines like Oyu Tolgoi ramp up production, they are creating distrust and conflict with herder communities.

The rapid rise in mineral extraction now raises the question, "Can herding survive mining?"

The Gobi, Mongolia's high-latitude desert, is a harsh environment traditionally inhabited by mobile pastoralists. The dramatic steppe and its extreme aridity form an important backdrop to herding activities, with low rainfall, droughts and extreme dzud winters.

The unpredictable climate make seasonal animal migrations (known as otor) exceptionally challenging here. For six millennia, Mongolian herders adapted to water and pasture scarcity with Traditional Ecological Knowledge. But Soviet collectivization centralized and controlled their herding practices, making them less mobile and less resilient to environmental shocks.

Today, these adaptive strategies are being further threatened by resource extraction. Mines can have negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts on herder livelihoods, from landscape degradation, dust emissions and water pollution, to a loss of traditional practices, community displacement and corruption.

A line of trucks transporting coal and ore through the Gobi Desert to the Chinese border. Credit: Jerome Mayaud
Oyu Tolgoi's footprint

The US$12-billion Oyu Tolgoi mine, which means "turquoise hill," is perhaps the most prominent example of herder-mine conflict in Mongolia. The mine, located in the traditional camel-breeding region of Khanbogd Soum (district), was acquired by Ivanhoe Mines in 2000 and expanded. The Mongolian public's doubts about the mine first surfaced when Ivanhoe's president announced to investors the company had found a "cash machine in the Gobi."

Now majority-owned and operated by Rio Tinto Corporation, the mine is the biggest employer in the district. Even though mining costs recently jumped by almost US$2 billion, Oyu Tolgoi remains Mongolia's largest corporate taxpayer.

Oyu Tolgoi has impacted the district in many ways. The mine funds a variety of corporate social responsibility initiatives, including a community health program, business training for local entrepreneurs and a project preserving dinosaur tracks in the desert. It has also built significant infrastructure, including graded roads and an airport.

However, much of this infrastructure remains unavailable to herders, or actively inconveniences them. The exclusion zones around the mine site, airport and pipelines have displaced traditional migration routes. Roads have divided and fragmented pastureland, and traffic poses a collision risk to herds. Boreholes built by Oyu Tolgoi may have accidentally connected shallow and deep water aquifers in the region, and may dramatically reduce the availability of shallow groundwater used for animals.

These issues prompted local herders to bring a case against Oyu Tolgoi to the World Bank, leading to a landmark agreement between them in 2017.

Highly variable rainfall and temperatures present a challenge for the herders of Khanbogd Soum. Credit: Jerome Mayaud & Troy Sternberg
Changing priorities among herders

While Oyu Tolgoi's shadow looms large on the steppe, a variety of social and economic factors unconnected to the mine have also led herders to change their behaviors and decision-making.

Livestock numbers have boomed since Mongolia's transition to democracy from 20 million in the 1990s to more than 60 million in the 2010s. This upward trend, which reflects herding's transformation from a subsistence livelihood to a form of development and wealth, has also been observed in Khanbogd district.

A two-fold increase in animals herded in the district between 2003 and 2015 has placed much greater pressure on water and pasture resources. The poor maintenance of the water wells and limited access to some water points have exacerbated these pressures, and the growing use of motorized water pumps has slowed well refilling.

Pastoralism thus seems to be shifting towards maximizing resource usage for personal advantage, rather than following the customary shared approach to land use. The district government has struggled to respond to this shift as it lacks the capacity or power to address local challenges related to land ownership. In the absence of clear governance, herders have increasingly come to expect Oyu Tolgoi to perform the role of the state and provide infrastructure and services.

A two-fold increase in the number of animals herded in Khanbogd Soum has led to increased pressure on water and pasture resources. Credit: Jerome Mayaud & Troy Sternberg
Coexistence, survival?

Contrary to common narratives, mining and herding do appear to coexist in Khanbogd district—for now, at least. Herders have strategies to cope with the harshness of the desert, and the rise in animal numbers suggests this remains a viable, if not entirely sustainable, livelihood in the region.

Nevertheless, the continuing evolution of herding away from subsistence livelihoods, combined with the presence of Oyu Tolgoi and other mega-mines, is leading pastoralism into an uncharted future. As China's US$1-trillion Belt and Road Initiative gains pace, Mongolian herders will have to navigate a complex cocktail of climate change, water risk and pressure from extractive industries and market forces. A point may soon come where traditional mobile pastoralism gives way to more settled animal husbandry, making Gobi life unrecognizable to Marco Polo's expedition centuries ago.

China donates 20,000 school supply items to Mongolian pupils www.xinhuanet.com

ULAN BATOR, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- China launched the Mongolia Panda Pack Project in the Nalaikh district of Ulan Bator on Wednesday.

More diplomatic appointment blues for Mongolia www.news.mn

Mongolia has failed to appoint new ambassadors in four counties and new consul generals in five foreign cities due to domestic disputes and blunt refusals form the countries in questions. Currently, Mongolia has no ambassadors in Russia, Sweden, South Korea and Australia; the posts for consul generals remain vacant in San-Francisco, Istanbul, Hohhot and Hong Kong.

Rio strikes deal with Chinese partners to cut steel-making emissions www.mining.com

The world’s No. 2 producer of iron ore, Rio Tinto (ASX, LON:RIO), has inked a preliminary deal with two Chinese partners to develop new ways to cut carbon emissions along the steelmaking supply chain amid increasing pressure from stakeholders to make mining a more environmentally-friendly activity.

‘The Hu’ tops U.S. chart with Gerege album www.news.mn

A new album from ‘The Hu’, the famous Mongolian rock band that blends heavy metal and traditional Mongolian throat singing, has reached No. 1 on the Billboard Chart in the first week of release. ‘The Gereg’ Album has nine hits including, “Yuve Yuve Yu” and “Wolf Totem” – songs which immediately went viral with 16 and 10 million views respectively on YouTube. “Gereg,” is a term that was used to describe a diplomatic passport from the time of Chinggis Khaan.

MIAT to lease Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner for direct flight to US www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. MIAT Mongolian Airlines, national flag carrier of Mongolia has reached a lease agreement with the Air Lease Corporation, American aircraft leasing company regarding Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft capable of long-haul direct flight to the USA. The plane is expected to arrive in Mongolia and put into operation by 2021 and the sides yet to agree on price.

Bills on general budget for 2020 ready for submission to parliament www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. At its meeting on September 25, the Cabinet approved bills on 2020 Budget law of Mongolia, 2020 budget of social insurance fund, 2020 budget of health insurance fund, budget framework of 2020 general budget, amendments to the budget assumptions of 2021-2022 and revised version of Government special fund and other draft laws regarding these documents and decided to submit them for parliament debate.