RESPONSIBLE MINING, THE OBJECTIVE OF THE MERIT PROJECT

The effective and sustainable management of Mongolia’s natural resources are essential to ensuring the realization of the Government’s goal of inclusive economic prosperity. Improving mining governance is one of the government’s top priorities, identified in its long-term Vision 2050 and its national action plans.

In 2015, the Canadian organization Catalyste+ met with ministries, agencies and provinces to discuss opportunities to strengthen institutional capacity to effectively implement the laws and policies related to the sector. Specifically, the project looked to expand sustainable and transparent development of the sector; increase local development revenues; and introduce modern management practices in the public service.

Officials expressed their interest in learning from Canada’s experience in natural resource management, affirming the similarities between the two countries, including in the challenges faced by mining-impacted communities.

One of the Canadian Government-funded “Mongolia: Enhancing Resource Management through Institutional Transformation” (MERIT) project’s achievements was to improve mine closure planning, by standardizing planning processes used in Mongolia and improving confidence that land disturbed by mining will have value to local communities after mine closure. An outcome of MERIT’s mine closure plan pilot project was capacity developed to enable future mine closure planning to be conducted using predominately resources available within Mongolia. The planning team committed to hold an annual Mongolian mine closure conference to disseminate learning and leading practice. Their first conference is planned for 04 July 2024 in Dundgobi province.

MERIT (2016-2024) held its closing ceremony on November 23, 2023. It was attended by ninety public servants representing ministries, agencies, the partner provinces of Dornod, Sukhbaatar, Dundgobi, and Tuv as well as representatives from civil society organizations and industry.

The Canadian Ambassador to Mongolia, H.E. Sandra Choufani, the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government of Mongolia, U. Byambasuren, and MERIT’s Country Director, Jennifer Adams delivered the opening remarks. The partners highlight the effectiveness and impact of the capacity-building delivered by Canadian and local advisors. Focus areas included: environment, mine closure planning, community engagement, local cooperation agreements, and gender equality. Over 8 years, MERIT’s 286 Canadian technical advisors delivered capacity-building to 23,770 public servants and 4,463 community members.

The emphasis of the closing ceremony was on the local ownership. Partners described how they adapted the learning to their work and organizations. The Director of the National Academy of Governance shared how the learning was incorporated in various curriculum allowing for the transfer of knowledge at a national level. MERIT’s ultimate success is demonstrated capacity of government and stakeholders to work together to grow an equitable, sustainable mining sector that contributes to inclusive economic prosperity.