Mongolia
Population (thousand) (2015): 2,959.13
Multidimensional Poverty Index Value (2010): 0..04
Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, Country Rank (2014): 90
Gross Domestic Product per capita, at Purchasing Price Parity (2015) (US$): 12,188.6
Background:
In the last two decades, Mongolia has seen a wave of economic and political transformation. Driven by its vast mineral resources and its booming mining sector, Mongolia has made significant strides in reducing poverty and achieving some key Millennium Development Goals. Mineral commodities account for about 40% of total government revenues and 80% of the country’s exports. However, starting in 2013, mining activities have slowed down rapidly due to the decline in commodity prices in international markets, pulling down economic growth in an equally dramatic manner. Growth has declined from 17% in 2011 to a projected 2.3% in 2015, heavily hitting government finances and has increased dependence on Mongolia’s natural resources. Additionally, climate change and ecosystem degradation have had serious impacts on well-being, and loss of livestock and biodiversity. Against this backdrop of instability driven by external factors, policy makers are increasingly recognizing the need for effectively long-term planning and the need to ensure that benefits are shared equitably and the environment is protected. The Poverty-Environment Initiative in Mongolia works to promote effective management of natural resources as a cornerstone priority for national policymaking and planning.
PEI Mongolia works to incorporate poverty and environment considerations into:
- national level policies, planning and budgeting
- local level policies and planning
- sectoral policies and planning
- capacity building, awareness raising and knowledge management to support the adoption of policies and tools
A snapshot of PEI Mongolia’s achievements till date:
- PEI worked to incorporate poverty-reduction and environmental sustainability concerns into the ‘National Law on Development Policy and Planning’ that was passed by the Government of Mongolia in November 2015. PEI was heavily involved in the formulation and drafting of the law and in the consultation processes and awareness raising activities regarding the law.
- Related to the above, PEI supported the development of one of five training modules on planning, monitoring and evaluation. The book “Guideline on planning and M&E” includes the concept of the green economy and its four aspects (social, economic, environmental and governmental), including a case study for poverty-environment linkage, and natural resource management aspects. Furthermore, it also includes indicators of environment, climate, natural resource and poverty issues to support the monitoring processes. Over 200 central and local government officials have been training on the use of the “Guideline on planning and monitoring and evaluations.
- National Green Development Policy: PEI supported the formulation of the Green Development Policy of Mongolia in 2014 through the incorporation of poverty reduction, social well-being and environmental sustainability issues in it; based on a study on poverty-environment linkages, issues of natural resource management, and environment-poverty-green development indicators. Following the adoption of the policy in June 2014, PEI continued to work with the Ministry of Environment, Green Development and Tourism (MEGDT), to incorporate poverty, environment and gender concerns in the action plan for green development policy, which was passed by parliament on 11th December, 2015. PEI contribution in the action plan under the 4th Strategic objective is described as follows: “…to promote and provide employment opportunities for vulnerable groups (unemployed, disabled, elderly and women) by creating green jobs through various initiatives and projects”, and “…to improve capacity of herders and local poor households to run green businesses and provide support through soft loan and equipment”. Thus far, nearly 582 officials ministries and agencies were trained on strengthening their knowledge about green economy terminologies and inclusive green development issues.
- Sustainability modelling: PEI supported development of the T21 model , a simulation tool for for integrated long-term planning, by mainstreaming environmental issues into the model and by establishing cooperation with the MEGDT on environmental indicators. The T21 modelling has been linked with the green development agenda and is fully owned by the Ministry of Finance.
- Public investment management: PEI worked closely with the Public Investment Department of the Ministry of Finance to carry out a baseline study “linking the public investment management with green development policy” was carried out. The study highlighted a weak legal environment, the absence of 8 ‘must-have’ processes and tool to screen investment projects and a need to strengthen the system and linkage between development policy, planning and investment systems.
- At the local level, PEI is working in Uvurkhangai aimag and in Darkhan-Uul aimag. In Uvurkhangai, PEI is supporting its vision to be a “green aimag”, building green development into its local planning, in collaboration with MEGDT, MOF and the UN PAGE programme. In Darkhan-Uul, a review of its key development policies from a poverty-environment perspective has been undertaken.
- Findings from a study on social, environmental and economic impacts of mining in Umnugobi province, carried out in 2014 and 2015, has led to the creation of a one-of-a-kind information database by the General Authority for State Registrations and Statistics that aims to collate information of impacts of large-scale mining including data on air quality, water quality, land degradation, migration, gender equity, employment and budget revenues among others. The database is the first of its kind and represents a strong step towards increasing transparency and monitoring of the sector and is run in collaboration with Ulaanbaatar Group on Statistics for Economies Based on Natural Resources.
(webpage last updated: March 2016)