MONGOLIA –
Management and conservation of water resources and the environment is of great interest in Mongolia. Clean fresh water is scarce resources which if not properly managed can be polluted, overused, or wasted. Like all counties there are many demands on fresh water in Mongolia. In addition to drinking and other household uses, vast quantities of fresh water are required for power and heat generation, manufacturing, and mining. An integrated approach to managing water must be taken in order to maximize and preserve the environment as well as this valuable resource.
The Ministry of Environment and Green Development (MEGD) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) hosted a technical workshop on September 23-24 at the National Statistical Office, Data Dissemination Centre to begin sketching out a model for the Integrated Water Recourses Management of the Tuul River Basin in Mongolia.
Approximately 40 participants from over 10 different Mongolian water organizations attended the technical workshop, including representatives from, the Ministry of Environment and Green Development (MEGD), the Fresh Water Institute of Mongolia, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other governmental and non-governmental organizations.
At the workshop, participants produced a draft decision sketch and model to support an integrated approach for the funding and prioritization of water use in the Tuul River Basin Authority. The model was refined during the week-long workshop to enhance its functionality and usability and was presented to senior leaders on September 26. The MEGD wants to continue to refine the model in order to use it to inform decision making related to ground water monitoring, flood management, and environmental flows of the Tuul River.
This workshop focused on the Tuul River Basin, but the same process can be applied to other basins. USACE plans to return to Mongolia in March 2015 to conduct additional workshops on advance decision modeling, IWRM, and Shared Vision Planning techniques.