Environmental Performance Review of Mongolia
The following are some of the key highlights from the report.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has recently released the Environmental Performance Review of Mongolia. The report takes stock of progress made by the country in the management of its environment since 1987. It covers legal and policy frameworks, compliance assurance, greening the economy, environmental monitoring, public participation and education for sustainable development.
The report addresses issues of specific importance to the country related to air protection, biodiversity conservation, as well as water, waste and land management. It also examines the efforts of Mongolia to integrate environmental considerations in its policies in the forestry and health sectors and highlights the progress achieved in the management of disaster risk associated with natural and man-made hazards. The review provides a substantive and policy analysis of the country’s participation in international cooperation on the environment, with a specific focus on the three Rio Conventions.
The publication is aimed at officials and experts working for public authorities responsible for environmental policy, representatives of civil society, the business community, academia and the media.
AIR PROTECTION
Although the air quality monitoring network of 40 monitoring sites seems robust, only 11 sites are automated. There is no regular monitoring or selfmonitoring of emissions of major polluters, and insufficient air quality monitoring in ger districts. Also, there are no available data on air emissions on the national level. Government policies are more focused on the capital city, while bad air quality in other regions is insufficiently addressed.
Particulate matter (PM) is considered the main pollutant in Mongolia, especially in Ulaanbaatar. However, there is limited scientific knowledge on its content and source.
The dust storms from the Gobi Desert (predominantly yellow sand) contribute substantially to sporadic PM pollution peaks. However, regular assessment of air quality does not take into account the contribution of sand and dust, especially to PM10.
The government has implemented numerous projects in ger districts, providing clean fuel and improved heating stoves, as high concentrations of suspended particles are commonly blamed on the use of raw coal for domestic heating in ger districts. Annual concentrations of PM10 in Ulaanbaatar show a certain decline but, due to inconsistent measurements and lack of data analysis, the results of actions taken are difficult to estimate.
The revised 2012 Law on Air requires major stationary sources to install equipment to monitor air emissions and abatement equipment. However, emissions from power plants are not monitored regularly and there is no national emission standard specifically for large combustion plants. The Law also prescribes fines for violating emission standards. However, the fines are too low to serve as an incentive to install abatement equipment.
According to the 2010 Law on Air Pollution Fees, fines for major sources that exceed emission standards should be calculated based on the estimated value of the damage. The most significant environmental damage caused by air pollution is damage to human health. However, there is no precise methodology for the estimation of population exposure and calculation of the economic cost of the health impact of air pollution. This also leaves Mongolia less prepared to substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from air pollution in line with SDG Target 3.9.
The Mongolian standard MNS 4585:2016 for the Air Quality Index prescribes the method for calculation of such an index. The prescribed methodology makes the Air Quality Index misleading, as, in most of the cases, the values of the Index would correspond to the real PM10 concentrations.
Recommended measures:
» Gradually replace obsolete air quality monitoring techniques with a more efficient and less costly organized air quality monitoring network;
» Focus on the monitoring on fine particles (PM2.5);
» Develop expertise for regular analysis of the content of particulate matter and assess the contribution of sand and dust in coarse particles; » Ensure monitoring of the emissions from major stationary air polluting sources;
» Ensure that fines for violation of emission standards are effective and dissuasive;
» Adopt the methodology for the calculation of the economic cost of the health impact of air pollution;
» Change the methodology for calculation of the Air Quality Index.
WATER MANAGEMENT
The government established the priorities for water management in the 2010 National Water Program and 2016 Mongolia Sustainable Development Vision 2030. Much attention is paid to revising and extending the legislative and regulatory frameworks. Achievements include the prohibition of mineral exploration and exploitation in run-off source areas, introduced in 2009, and placing 44.5 percent of the total area of river sources under national protection by 2016.
The integrated water resources management (IWRM) approach is a priority direction for reforming the water management system. Practical implementation of IWRM lags behind, with the need to develop IWRM plans for the remaining basins, ensure implementation of IWRM plans and advance opportunities for public participation in water management.
Mongolia established 21 water basin administrations for its 29 water basins. However, these bodies lack the experience needed for implementation of their tasks. Training and professional development of employees of the water basin authorities are of the utmost importance, to enable them to implement the assigned tasks and be better positioned for advancing implementation of Target 6.5 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
About 95 percent of the water used in the country is supplied from groundwater resources, which amount to only 1.91 percent of the total volume of Mongolia’s water resources. Surface water resources are unequally distributed throughout the territory and are used to a limited extent.
The official data for access to water supply and sanitation and the related MDG indicators vary between different sources. The clear gaps are the persistent differences in access to both water supply and sanitation between urban and rural areas, the limited number of households connected to central sewerage systems in urban areas and the very low percentage of the rural population (according to some sources, less than 5 percent in 2010) estimated to have access to adequate sanitation. Open defecation is still practiced. Additional efforts are therefore needed for the country to achieve Targets 6.1 and 6.2 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Treated wastewater increased from 60 million cubic meters (30 percent) in 2012 to almost 88 million cubic meters (44 percent) in 2016. Untreated wastewater is dumped into the environment, causing surface water and groundwater contamination. The lack of financial resources causes delays in repair, maintenance, restoration and reconstruction of wastewater treatment plants. This is especially true for treatment plants in rural areas and in remote locations.
Recommended measures:
» Provide training in order to improve the water resources management capacity of the water basin authorities’ staff;
» Create and maintain the national water database and subdatabase of water basin information;
» Develop an action plan to shift from the use of groundwater to the use of the surface water resources;
» Increase investments in water supply, sanitation and sewerage infrastructure, with a focus on rural areas.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Although waste data have been collected for more than a decade, their quality is low. A list of hazardous waste was adopted, but it is not used in practice. Other waste management-related data exist but are not aggregated at the national level. The lack of waste management data impedes the development of projects and provision of information to public.
The priority in waste management during the last decade was the improvement of municipal solid waste (MSW) management and healthcare waste management. Sectoral strategies or sectoral waste management plans are not in place. Radioactive waste is not considered an immediate priority.
Regular MSW collection services are concentrated in urban areas. The overall waste collection coverage is assumed to be 70 percent in urban and 40 percent in rural areas. Waste collection coverage in Ulaanbaatar is estimated at 90–95 percent.
MSW is disposed of in dumpsites, which are located near residential areas. These sites were created ad hoc, and only later did municipal authorities start to declare official disposal sites. There are about 400 official disposal sites covering territory of 3,500–4,500 ha. The number of illegal dumpsites is hard to estimate but, during the period 2006–2016, more than 4,000 illegal sites covering 500,000 ha were cleaned and 1.1 million tons of illegally disposed waste were transferred to official disposal sites.
Recycling is focused on high-value wastes such as metals, plastics, paper and cardboard. Separation of recyclables from municipal waste is well developed with a system of buy-out points. However, most recyclables are exported because recycling capacities are lacking in Mongolia. A complex waste management facility, EcoPark, is planned to enhance waste recycling capacities.
Information on hazardous waste is limited. It is estimated that about 27,000–54,000 tons of hazardous waste is generated annually throughout the country. The main sources of hazardous waste are sludge from tanneries, waste from processing and use of crude oil, and soil containing cyanide and mercury from gold ore processing. Additionally, there are banned chemicals and acids from the recycling of car batteries. Improved reporting mechanisms on hazardous waste are needed for Mongolia to be able to measure progress towards achieving SDG Target 12.4.
Information on the environmental impact of artisanal mining activities is limited. The 2007 SoER identified 120 illegal gold extraction sites. These illegal activities generated 203,500 m3 of tailings and 53.5 ha of land contaminated by mercury.
Recommended measures:
» Introduce data verification procedures;
» Publish annual statistical reports on waste management;
» Approve the new national waste management strategy and prepare a financing plan;
» Ensure that sectoral ministries develop and implement waste management strategies;
» Develop and implement waste management plans at the municipal level;
» Develop a specific strategy, plans and legislation for radioactive waste management; » Become a party to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management;
» Develop and implement the national waste database and the metadatabase on waste data;
» Support development of the EcoPark as a modern waste management center.
BIODIVERSITY AND PROTECTED AREAS
Mongolia has managed to preserve its pristine natural ecosystems and is still one of the last wildlife species refuges of East Asia. However, throughout the last three decades, Mongolia has experienced rapid declines of numerous species, including those globally threatened by extinction. Simultaneously, the integrity of almost all natural ecosystems in each of the four ecoregions of Mongolia is currently threatened, mostly due to growing anthropogenic pressures.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, Mongolia has developed a complex system of protected areas, designated at different administrative levels and covering almost 47 million ha, or 29.91 percent of the country’s territory, in 2017. However, a considerable part of wildlife habitats and migration corridors of wide-ranging and globally significant species remain in the “nonprotected” 70 percent of the country. Moreover, in the case of some protected areas, the current zoning pattern does not provide the sufficient protection level for important wildlife habitats. Addressing these challenges is important for Mongolia’s progress in achieving SDG Targets 15.1 and 15.4.
Management planning is not adequately regulated by the current legislation, and remains a weak point of the system. The management responsibility pattern is complicated, as strictly protected areas and national parks (NPs) are either directly managed by the State or by contracted NGOs and herder group associations, while Statedesignated nature reserves and natural monuments, as well as all locally-designated buffer zones and local protected areas, are managed by the regional and local authorities. Even though there is no legal requirement for developing management plans for special protected areas (SPAs), the Ministry of Environment and Tourism expects all state SPAs to have management plans and this process is ongoing.
Budgetary constraints are common in state-funded protected area administrations, which cannot retain and use revenues from entrance fees. There is no legal requirement for land fees to be allocated for the maintenance and management of protected areas.
The current human, technical, operational and financial capacities are not sufficient, given the tasks determined by the current policy framework on biodiversity. Seven officers of the Protected Areas Management Department of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism being responsible for effective management of the state SPA system, or 337 rangers being responsible for surveillance and law enforcement over the territory of 24 million ha, are clearly not enough. Without enhancement of the current capacities, the implementation of state policies related to biodiversity and protected areas, as well as the related achievement of SDG Targets 15.1, 15.4 and 15.5, might simply not be feasible.
Due to a considerable number of gaps and shortcomings, the 1994 Law on Special Protected Areas is currently under revision. In addition, a new programme on SPAs is to be developed in place of the 1998 National Programme on Special Protected Areas. The new program is to address the planned expansion of the state network of protected areas and improve the management of protected areas.
Recommended measures:
» Support the development and/or revision of protected area management plans;
» Revise the protected area zonation to improve conservation efficiency;
» Introduce the use of spatial planning tools in the expansion of the protected area network;
» Provide that the revenues from entrance fees are returned to the collecting protected area; » Provide training and modern equipment and increase budgets in the biodiversity conservation sector;
» Finalize the revision of the Law on Special Protected Areas;
» Finalize and adopt the new program on special protected areas.
LAND MANAGEMENT
In 2015, around 76.8 percent of the total territory was degraded to some degree, with 24.1 percent slightly degraded, 29.8 percent moderately degraded, 16.8 percent severely degraded and 6.1 percent very severely degraded. The severely and very severely affected areas include dry and semi-desert lands of the Lake Uvs Basin, the Great Lakes Depression, and Dundgovi and Dornogovi provinces.
Most land degradation occurs on rangeland. The area of rangeland had decreased from 123.6 million ha in 1987 to 112.2 million ha in 2016. Meanwhile, the livestock population had increased by 2.7 times, from 22.741 million head in 1987 to 61.549 million head in 2016. Consequently, the density of livestock increased from 18 head per hundred ha in 1987 to 54 head per hundred ha in 2016, putting increased pressure on the rangeland. Along with the increase in the livestock population, the composition of livestock had changed: the share of goats has increased from 19.3 percent in 1987 to 42.1 percent in 2015. At the end of 2015, about 63 percent of rangeland was severely overgrazed.
Apart from overgrazing, the pressures on rangeland from human activities include mining, unpaved multitrack roads and urbanization. Notwithstanding this pressure, Mongolia lacks a law for regulating the use of rangeland; it has remained in a draft version for a number of years.
The government has set ambitious targets to restore not less than 70 percent of degraded land and decrease the area of decertified land to 60 percent of total territory by 2030, in line with SDG Target 15.3. It has advanced the legal and policymaking framework through the adoption of the 2012 Law on Soil Protection and Desertification Prevention and the 2010 National Action Programme to Combat Desertification, covering the period 2010–2020. However, practical implementation of the envisaged policies faces challenges in view of limited financial resources and the inadequate level of institutional coordination.
Mongolia’s network for monitoring land degradation and desertification consists of 1,500 points throughout the country. The information on three land degradation neutrality (LDN) indicators (i.e. land cover and land cover change, land productivity, and carbon stocks above and below ground) is currently not collected.
Recommended measures:
» Finalize and adopt the law on rangeland;
» Improve the mechanism for development of land management plans;
» Establish coordination mechanisms for integrated land management among the relevant ministries and agencies;
» Mobilize additional financial resources for the implementation of the 2010 National Action Programme to Combat Desertification, covering the period 2010-2020;
» Initiate data collection for three LDN indicators.