By Delgermaa Boldbaatar Today is New Year’s Eve. I am writing this note to recap and express gratitude to this year’s moments. This year I had committed to myself to volunteer to do social work to help local nomadic families outside of my daily work. Initially my idea was to donate some books to the…

By S. Undargaa, Independent Researcher Issues surrounding mining and/or land grabs for resource extraction, including appropriating public use areas, present a complicated relationship between stakeholders in a complex environment of political economy/ecology. Some cases, already fraught with dispute, are then exploited for other purposes with the result being unequal benefit distribution. The Gobi Framework for…

Нөлөөллийн үнэлгээний зөвлөх сонгон шалгаруулж авна Говийн загвар төсөл нь уул уурхайн салбар дахь зөрчлийг зөвлөлдөх замаар шийдвэрлэх чиглэлээр судалгаа явуулж байгаа бөгөөд нийгэм, эрүүл мэнд, байгаль орчны нөлөөллийн үнэлгээний чиглэлээр мэргэшсэн богино хугацааны (2-3 сар) зөвлөх хайж байна. Эдгээр зөвлөхүүд нь тус төслийн хүрээнд нөлөөллийн үнэлгээний журам, аргачлал боловсруулах ажилд хувь нэмэр оруулах бөгөөд…

Guest blog by: Jocelyne Fraser, University of British Columbia For generations the south Gobi Desert of Mongolia has been home to nomads and their herds of sheep, goats, camels and horses.  Today is it also an area of interest for mineral exploration and mining companies from around the world. To investigate how mineral exploration companies…

BBC Kyrgyz Service (Part of BBC World Service) has filmed a 30 minute documentary on reclamation issues in Chatkal and Ala-Buka. The short film was aired on the National Channel of Kyrgyzstan. The documentary focuses on areas along the Kassan-Sai river, where the land has not been restored after mining. Journalists spoke to local residents,…

We are pleased to announce the upcoming Oxford Interdisciplinary Desert Conference scheduled for 22 to 24 April 2020 at the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford. The Oxford Desert Conference brings together academics and non-academics who research, work and live across the world’s desert and semi-desert regions for two days…

Writing Research Grant Proposals Workshop 8 January 2020, 2-5 pm National University of Mongolia Library, Ulaanbaatar On the 8th January 2020, we will hold a training in Ulaanbaatar on Writing Research Grant Proposals. The training will be held in English. The training is open to academics and non-academics who are interested in collaborating with Universities…

By Chuka Chuluunbat For Mongolian herders, winter camps are crucial for the survival of their livestock. In 2004, about 16 families’ winter camps in Khanbogd soum, South Gobi province, were affected by the Oyu Tolgoi mega mine. The mining company initiated a relocation of affected winter camps. As a form of compensation the company built…

Author: Rukhmina Imronshoeva, UCA Intern It is hard to keep my eyes open as the dust is everywhere, sensitive to the smallest irritation. People have to shout to be heard because the noise of machines steals some of the words. Constant construction, huge machines and noise disturbance caused by the blasting of rocks are the…

With a focus on livelihoods, communities and mining, the UK-funded Gobi Framework project launched in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on April 16, 2019. A collaborative endeavour between the University of Central Asia (UCA), the University of Oxford and the Independent Research Institute of Mongolia, the project ims to develop a framework for sustainable infrastructure development. This was…