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Report: Environmental Legislation in Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia

By Environmental Governance Programme (EGP)

Монгол тайланг энд дарж үзнэ үү

Key Messages

Kyrgyzstan and Mongolian share a similar history, geography, and culture. These Central and East Asian countries have also been increasingly committed to improving mining governance for more positive social, environmental, and human rights outcomes. This workshop on environmental legislation in mining with the two mineral-rich countries offered a space for sharing technical knowledge between government decision-makers, civil society, and think tanks and helped generate high-level commitmenttowards working for improved legislation and legal enforcement.
In both countries, there is an urgent need to streamline laws and regulations to operate better together, including by improving enforcement and monitoring capacities and results. Some of the main challenges rely on implementing various pieces of legislation applied to mining, such as mineral, environmental, and criminal law, in a more synergistic manner. In addition, community participation needs to be strengthened throughout the mining cycle, ranging from licensing to mine closure and rehabilitation. Mongolia's recent experiences with Participatory Environmental Monitoring (PEM) and Kyrgyzstan's work in engaging communities affected by the Uranium Legacy Sites offer excellent examples for further scaling up, informing reforms in legislation and the institutionalisation of participatory approaches.
Workshop participants agreed to further and more in-depth collaboration and exchanges between the countries. Kyrgyzstan's Deputy Minister for Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision, Ms Aisha Karpaeva and the Director of the Department of Green Development Policy Coordination and Planning of Mongolia's Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Mr B. Buyannemekh, underscored the value of this cooperation.

Presentations

KYRGYZSTAN

INTRODUCTION OF CURRENT ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION AND STANDARDS RELATED TO MINING (ENGLISH)

Gulzhan Makhmudova, Project Coordinator, UNDP Kyrgyzstan

STATUS OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE MAIN CHALLENGES IN THE MINING SECTOR (ENGLISH, RUSSIAN)

Bakytbek Kozhogulov, UNDP Expert and Director, Ken-Too Design and Research Centre

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN THE URANIUM LEGACY SITES (ENGLISH)

Adilet Sekimov, Expert in Disaster Risk Reduction Monitoring and Reporting, UNDP Kyrgyzstan

MONGOLIA

POLICY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN THE MINING SECTOR (ENGLISH, MONGOLIAN)

D. Shijir-Erdene, Senior Officer, Environmental Assessment and Audit Division, Ministry of Environment and Tourism

SYSTEM OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF MONGOLIA (ENGLISH, MONGOLIAN)

I. Byambakhuu, Technical Consultant, UNDP Mongolia

Workshop Agenda

Opening and Introduction

9:00 - 9:10* iNTRODUCTION OF THE WORKSHOP BY THE MODERATOR AND INTRODUCTION OF PARTICIPANTS

9:10 - 9:20 OPENING REMARKS

Aisha Karpaeva, Deputy Minister, Ministry for Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic
Enkhbat Altangerel, Director, Department of Environment and Natural Resources Management, Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia

Session 1: Environmental legislation and standards related to the mining lifecycle, from opening to mine closure

9:20 - 9:40 Introduction of current environmental legislation and standards related to mining in Kyrgyzstan (english)

Gulzhan Makhmudova, Project Coordinator, UNDP Kyrygzstan

9:35 - 9:55 Introduction of current environmental legislation and standards related to mining in Mongolia (ENGLISH, MONGOLIAN)

Shijir-Erdene Dolgorsuren, Senior Officer, Environmental Assessment and Audit Division, Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia

Session 2: Environmental law enforcement mechanisms related to mining

10:00 - 10:15 Status of environmental law enforcement and main challenges in Mongolia

Shijir-Erdene Dolgorsuren, Ministry of Environment and Tourism

10:10 - 10:25 STATUS OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND MAIN CHALLENGES IN Kyrgyzstan (ENGLISH, RUSSIAN)

Kozhogulov Bakytbek, UNDP Expert and Director, Ken-Too Design and Research Centre

10:30 - 10:45 Environmental Impact Assessment MechanismS IN Mongolia (ENGLISH, MONGOLIAN)

I. Byambakhuu, Technical Consultant, UNDP Mongolia

10:40 - 10:55 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT MECHANISMS IN KYRGYZSTAN

Kozhogulov Bakytbek, Ken-Too Design and Research Centre

10:55 - 11:10 Break

Session 3: Panel Discussion - Learning Cases and Good Stories

11:10 - 11:25 Experiences of mining rehabilitation and reclamation in Mongolia

Altangerel Battulga, Chief Executive Officer, Green Crown Environmental Monitoring Company

11:25 - 11:40 EXPERIENCES OF MINING REHABILITATION AND RECLAMATION IN Kyrgyzstan

11:40 - 11:55 Participatory Environmental Monitoring in the mining sector in Mongolia

Bayarsaikhan Namsrai, Head, Steps Without Border NGO

11:55 - 12:15 Community engagement in Uranium legacy sites (ENGLISH)

Adilet Sekimov, Expert in Disaster Risk Reduction Monitoring and Reporting, UNDP Kyrgyzstan

12:15 - 12:55 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Session 4: Open Discussion on Potential Further Collaboration

12:55 - 13:00 Summary by EGP global team

Håkan Tarras-Wahlberg, EGP Global Team

13:00 - 13:30 Exchange ideas and opinions on potential further cooperation

Closing

13:30 - 13:40 Closing Remarks

Anna George, Programme Manager, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

*Central European Summer Time/Stockholm (CST)

Mining Sector Overview

KYRGYZSTAN

The mining industry in the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the most strategic sectors of the economy, and its development is considered crucial to the country's growth. The mining sector accounted for 11 per cent of the Kyrgyz GDP, comprising 50 per cent of industrial production, and 40 per cent of exports, providing over 15,000 jobs across the country.

However, in the southern part of the country, particularly in Chatkal and Ala-Buka districts, there are abandoned, non-recultivated gold mining sites. Dozens of sites along the mountain rivers (Chatkal, Sandalash, Kasan-Sai, Ala-Buka-Sai and their tributaries) were left without recultivation and posed severe threats to people's health, livelihoods, and the environment.

Improving awareness among stakeholders of the importance of the post-mining transition and mine rehabilitation is critical for creating a safe landscape for wildlife, flora, and humans. For the sites to be reverted to their natural state and used for communities, environmental and socioeconomic planning must be included in local development plans, and appropriate rehabilitation works should be implemented.

MONGOLIA

The mining industry plays a vital role in Mongolia’s economy. The mining sector accounted for 23 per cent of Mongolia’s GDP, 71 per cent of Foreign Direct Investment and 94 per cent of export production. The 2018 EITI report highlights that the mining sector's share in Mongolia's total industrial output was 57,63 per cent on average for the last three years. The growing mining sector has transformed Mongolia’s economy from one traditionally dependent on herding and agriculture into a booming industrial economy.

With such growth in the sector, environmental governance and sustainable natural resource management in line with human rights and the rule of law principles remain critical challenges for the country. The impacts of mining on vulnerable communities and the environment include soil erosion, degradation of pastoral land, air pollution by mining dust, water scarcity, and environmental pollution. Nomadic herding culture is threatened by severe weather and the loss of land to mining and agriculture. Many herders in mining areas have been forced to leave their traditional lands.

Public participation in decision-making around mining activities needs to be enforced. Growing concerns regarding environmental protection and remediation related to mining operations have emerged, requiring the State to ensure proper policy coordination and effective monitoring.

EGP Stories of Change

Kyrgyzstan: Promoting Environmental Protection through Community Engagement

Mongolia: Promoting Community Participation in Mining Governance

Country Pages

EGP Kyrgyzstan Website

EGP Mongolia Website

Publications and Guides

Extracting Good Practices: A Guide for Governments and Partners to Integrate Environment and Human Rights into the Governance of the Mining Sector

Participatory Environmental Monitoring Committees in Mining Contexts: Lessons from Nine Case Studies in Four Latin American Countries

Users Guide on Assessing the Rule of Law in Public Administration: The Mining Sector

Role of Host Governments in Enabling or Preventing Conflict Associated with Mining

Environmental Governance Programme (EGP)

The EGP is a global programme jointly implemented by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and UNDP since 2014, supporting resource-rich countries in integrating environment and human rights into the governance of the mining sector. Programme countries include Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Mongolia, Namibia, Peru, and Zambia.

The EGP is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

EMAIL: CONTACT.EGP@UNDP.ORG

WEB: WWW.ENVIRONMENTALGOVERNANCEPROGRAMME.ORG

Footnotes

Cover photo: EGP-supported workshop on Participatory Environmental Monitoring (PEM) held in Dornogobi Province, Mongolia, in 2021. Photo credits: UNDP Mongolia/Barkhas Losolsuren.

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FootNotes

Cover photo: EGP-supported workshop on Participatory Environmental Monitoring (PEM) held in Dornogobi Province, Mongolia, in 2021. Photo credits: UNDP Mongolia/Barkhas Losolsuren.