From Mongolia: Organizing Citizens to Focus on Responsible Mining
On March 17th, 100 citizens in Mongolia’s Zaamar district attended the first citizen-convened gathering in their recent local history. Representatives from the Toson Zaamar River Movement in north central Tov province organized town hall meetings and other events during the course of the week to engage residents and government decision-makers on issues related to responsible mining, to learn more about these issues, and to develop strategies for community improvement.
Zaamar district faces issues such as potential improper licensing of mining activities, displacement of 22 families and their livestock from traditional grazing lands by mining companies, environmental and human health impacts from large and small mines, and failure to properly close mine sites. The activities in Zaamar were organized by Mr. D. Enkhtur from the Toson Zaamar Movement, one of 12 local river protection movements in the newly-formed Mongolian Nature Protection Coalition (MNPC). These groups are now working together to foster responsible mining and natural resource use through active citizen participation.
Beginning on Thursday March 14th, Enkhtur and his colleagues convened meetings in Tuv, Hailaast, and Tumestein rural areas to build support among local herders and town residents. Twenty individuals from each community agreed to join a larger event on Saturday.
“Now is the time for local citizens to protect their land,” commented Ms. L. Gansukh, Governor of the Hailaast rural area. “Herders are in danger of losing their rights to live in a safe and healthy environment. Gold is not forever. We have to think about how to protect nature and the environment.”
On March 16th, local movement leaders and members from the MNPC met with officials from the Monpolymet mining company to discuss rehabilitation and reclamation of mined areas. The dialogue sparked interest in forming a participatory agreement between the company and local movement in the future. This was a promising signal related to future prospects for public-private dialogue.
Following the successful meetings in Hailaast, Tuv and Tumestein, over 100 people arrived in the district center of Zaamar on March 17th to raise concerns about licensing procedures in two recent decisions, to explore options for citizen oversight, and to chart a course for their movement. The town hall meeting focused specifically on two mining licenses recently -approved by the district Citizens’ Representative Hural (CRH). Several citizens questioned the process through which the CRH awarded these licenses, and local CRH members defended their actions through dialogue. By the end of the meeting, citizens requested documentation verifying the licensing process. The citizens then began formation of a citizens’ council to call the district-level CRH to revisit 117 exploration and extraction licenses in the region, to monitor mine-related activities, to seek reclamation of mined sites, and to explore community development. Volunteers then agreed to work in their rural areas and reconvene in April.
“Establishing a citizens’ committee will provide an opportunity for people to influence decisions based on local ideas, and to better monitor improper mining activities that hurt local people,” commented Enkhtur. “Civic engagement is one of the key ways that we can make change in our community for a better life.”
