World Environment Day kicks off in Mongolia

This year the main WED event is hosted by the government and people of Mongolia, and focuses on the new UNEP and UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) campaign Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Foodprint, which is aimed at slashing food waste.

Mongolia is one of the fastest-growing countries in the world, and is aiming to ensure this growth goes hand in hand with a green economy and civilization. While Mongolia does not waste significant food, the traditional nomadic lifestyle of some of its people—who developed ways to preserve food for long periods—offers some ancient answers to the modern-day challenge of food waste.
Mongolia is prioritizing a Green Economy shift across its big economic sectors such as mining and promoting environmental awareness among youth. The official blogger for the event is Charles Immanuel Akhimien, UNEP WED Blog Competition winner.

Highlights of the WED 2013 programme in Mongolia include:

1 June

International Children’s Day
This year’s activities took place at the Central Square, Ulaanbaatar and they were themed on the environment. The day provided a great opportunity to educate the young people about the theme for this year’s World Environment Day. The occasion provided a lively and energetic atmosphere which afforded the perfect opportunity to educate these young people about various environmental topics such as food waste, waste recycling, wildlife conservation and lots more through interesting means such as games.

There were various performances in dance and songs from children groups. The high points of the celebration were the performance by popular Mongolian singer Saraa as well as the flashmob which involved over 1000 kids!

2 June

Ulaanbaatar-2013 Мarathon
The 4th Annual Ulaanbaatar City International Marathon was flagged off  by current Marathon World Record Holder and UNEP Patron for Clean Air Patrick Makau. Makau, a Kenyan had conquered the world record in the marathon with a time of 2:03:38, set at the 2011 Berlin Marathon.  He was named the UNEP clean air patron on February 23rd 2013.

Over 400 registered runners participated in the 42km race and the runners made their way through the city on a day in which the city centre was also designated car free, all as part of events to mark World Environment Day.

The marathon, jointly organised by the Mongolian Olympic Committee, Mongolian Athletics Federation and Air Mongol Travel Group, one of the leading tour operators of Mongolia was aimed at highlighting the growing challenges Ulaanbaatar and Mongolia as a whole is facing in terms of air pollution. Due to Ulaanbaatar’s rapid population growth, the number of vehicles in the city has doubled over the past decade. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over half of Ulaanbaatar’s vehicles do not meet emissions standards, and 80 per cent of the fleet is over 10 years old.  As a result, the Mongolian government is making concerted efforts to reduce air pollution and its harmful consequences to health and the environment.

3 June 

Green Development National Forum
The day kicked off with a media briefing at the State Palace, Ulaanbaatar. The President of Mongolia talked the challenges and successes of making a transition to a Green Economy in a world of stark economic realities. In his words, “For the government of Mongolia, green development is not a choice; it is something we must do”. He also spoke of the giant strides the government has made such as reorganizing a formerly line Ministry of Environment and Tourism into a core Ministry of Environment and Green Development (one of only four core ministries). Other successes include: passage of legislation in Parliament for the creation of National Parks and, most notably, the reduction in mining licenses from 46 percent in 2009 to 12 percent at present.

The main focus of the day however was the very crucial National forum on Green development,which also took place at the State Palace. Opening the forum, the Minister for Environment and Green Development, Dr. Oyun Sanjaasuren, spoke of what hosting this year’s World Environment Day celebration meant to Mongolia. ”It is a great honour and responsibility to host this year’s World Environment Day celebration, and also a great opportunity to show the world what we have.

Mr. Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director, also spoke at the forum. He thanked the Mongolia government for hosting the global community for World Environment Day 2013. He highlighted that, in the 21st century, the economy and the environment are intricately intertwined. He thanked Mongolia for being a loud voice for the environment in the face of very brutal economic argument. He also reiterated the commitment of UNEP to ensure that the 21st century is a story of sustainable development. While fielding various questions from the media, he noted that this year’s World Environment Day theme Think.Eat.Save: Reduce your Foodprint draws attention to the enormous ethical, economic and environmental issue that food waste/loss poses as well as the need to let people all over the world know that they have a role to play in addressing the global food waste pandemic. 

Other speakers at the forum included: Professor Sander van der Leeuw, Champion of the Earth 2012; Professor Chuluun Togtokh, Director General, Department of Green Development Policy and Planning of Mongolia, and a host of others.

World Environment Day celebrations will continue today with the launch of the country’s first wind farm, and activities focusing on the potential growth of the country’s eco-tourism industry.

More at UNEP WED