Daniel KARTHE, United Nations University Instititute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources, Germany
The Selenga River is the main tributary feeding lake Baikal, and its basin covers about 450,000 km² in both Mongolia and the Russian Federation. Even though the region has a relatively long history of mining, many of the Mongolian subbasins experienced a mining boom in the early 21st century, with coal, gold, copper and molybdenum forming the key resources. Mining developed not only into a major water consumer, but also a significant polluter, while at the same time contributing to regional economic development. Despite the strong interconnections between mining and regional water security, there are only limited linkages between water and mining governance.
This presentation looks into 1) the documented impacts that mining has on the region's water resources, their quality and the state of aquatic ecosystems and 2) the ways that the water and the mining sector are being managed at different governmental levels. It concludes that the management of water and mining require better coordination, but also a stronger enforcement of water- and environment-related legislation.
Keywords: Water|Mining|Pollution|Governance
A105357DK