A group of camel herders in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia are celebrating a historic victory. After four years of intense negotiations, the local herder organizations took on a major mining company and won. In this David vs. Goliath story, the locals won a landmark agreement with the operators of one of the world’s largest copper mines – the Oyu Tolgoi – protecting their way of life, their environment, their health, and their animals.
The herders of the Gobi Desert have been living off the land for decades, tending to their camels. Recently, they’ve been at the mercy of a host of environmental impacts. The region is now experiencing the detrimental impacts of climate change – with brutally hot and dry summers, and freezing cold winters impacting the herders and their animals. The introduction of large scale mining into the desert, including the Oyu Tolgoi copper mining site, has added new obstacles – most importantly access to clean water and space to migrate the herds.
The Oyu Tolgoi project, supported by the Mongolian government as an economic priority, received funding in 2010 from the International Finance Corporation, the private sector lending arm of The World Bank. The mine is now partly operational, with planned completion in 2025.
Until now.
Two local organizations, Oyu Togol Watch and Gobi Soil, have filed multiple complaints with the International Finance Corporation’s Compliance Advisor and Ombudsman. Using multiple grants from Global Greengrants Fund, the groups have been able to advocate for their rights and livelihoods in the four year-long negotiation process.
The grants awarded to the local alliances came through Global Greengrants’ International Financial Institutions Advisory Board, a group of experts from around the world who support work on issues associated with the environmental impacts of development and trade projects, policies, and programs that receive financing and other support from International Financial Institutions.
While International Financial Institutions, such as The World Bank, or the International Monetary Fund, share a mission of combating poverty, their approach to economic growth has historically produced enormous debt in developing countries. Policies typically favor wealthy and politically powerful elites, and include few safeguards to protect the environment or human rights of citizens facing the impacts of large-scale development.
Our experts work with groups to encourage and support research and citizen monitoring of specific development projects, while also strengthening avenues for citizen engagement in development projects.
Due to the herder’s filed complaints and efforts to force the International Finance Corporation to address the environmental and human rights impacts of the Oyu Togol mine, the local people are now working closely with the company and government to make sure their needs are addressed.
Due to the efforts of the local people, the mining company and government now plan to monitor the environmental impacts of the mine, construct new wells to provide water to the local people, and implement a pasture management plan. Health services for the herders and their children will also be offered. Most importantly, the company plans to consult with herders on a regular basis, tracking the impact of the mine of their lives and the environment.
While this is a historic victory for the local people, the fight isn’t quite over. Now, the locals need to make sure that the company and government uphold their promises. We’ll be there in solidarity every step of the way.
Photo Credit: Al Jazeera English / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0