Mongolia Is Victim of Global Warming
By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
In climate change talks, we often hear about discord between developed and developing countries.
Developed nations call for a tight cap on greenhouse gas emission, while developing countries argue the cap shouldn't obstruct their economic growth.
In Mongolia, where economic development has little to do with the emission of greenhouse gas, this debate doesn't exist.
The landlocked Asian country's economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, the breeding of livestock and natural resources.
Instead, what exists there is a lack of water and the expansion of desert. The issues have caused the government to brainstorm ways to minimize the scale of damage.
For Mongolians, the impact of global warming hits close to home.
"Half of the population is living a nomadic lifestyle, depending on their livestock," Mongolian Ambassador to Seoul Dorjpalam Gerel said in an interview with The Korea Times.
The population of Mongolia is 2.7 million, half of which are nomads who roam around the territory with a combined total of 43 million livestock.
He added, "The nomadic way of life is unlike the settled one. Unlike the farm-animal agriculture in other countries, nomads totally depend on water and pasturelands. Only the smallest change in climate directly influences their lives."
The change in recent years, unfortunately, has been far from small. He witnessed a fraction of that change this summer.
"In July, I visited my country. I went to the countryside with my family for a vacation. Unfortunately, I witnessed that some of the rivers and lakes where I used to play as a little boy have dried out or become very small."
According to statistics, out of the country's 5,171 rivers, 887 have disappeared as of 2009. The same goes for lakes ― of 3,732 lakes, 1,166 are gone, Gerel said.
Droughts have contributed to the expansion of the desert in the southern part of the country.
Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United Nations, also observed with concern the desertification in Mongolia this summer while he experienced the challenge first hand by visiting with one of the nomadic communities.
Asked to comment on Mongolians having to suffer from consequences they aren't necessarily responsible for, the ambassador replied, "It isn't just Mongolia's problem. The whole world is suffering."
He said Mongolia has launched a few initiatives on its own and in collaboration with other countries.
One of the recent efforts was the "Year of Strengthening Capacity of Environmental Inspectors" by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
"It is an important step to control human activities," Gerel said.
The "Green Belt" project began with high aspirations a few years ago, initiated by then-Prime Minister Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, who is now president. The plan was to build a 500-meters-wide belt of forest stretching across the country. The project is currently in limbo due to lack of funds.
Environmental challenges in Mongolia are a concern for Korea because of the yellow sand storms that originate there and affect the air in Korea. As the area of desertification gets larger, the frequency and thickness of the storms gets bigger, the ambassador said.
As a result, a joint project between Korea and Mongolia has been created to focus on planting trees to curb the yellow sand storms.
General cooperation on environment issues between the two countries began in 2000.
An official at the international cooperation division of Korea's Ministry of Environment said the collaboration has been "exceptionally active."
Identifying himself only as Kwon, the official said, ``Mongolia seeks to benchmark the Korean experience in environmental protection."
This year alone, environment ministers of both countries met three times. Three Mongolian officials were sent to Korea for training on environmental issues, added Kwon.
As to why the cooperation is significant, the ambassador stated, "Desertification is not only a Mongolian problem but it brings severe damage to the Northeast Asian region."