Liquid Economics
April 1 (E. Zorigt via Mongolian Economy) During the recently held2013 Mongolia Economy Forum, a break-out session titled "Mongolian Brand and Opportunities" focused on how to take Mongolia as a brand worldwide.
Participants unanimously agreed opportunities existed for branding Mongolia's agricultural products such as meat, milk and dairy products, skins and hides, and cashmere and wool.
"Mongolia has an opportunity. A brand is an endless resource and is the resources fund for our future generations. Thus, our discussion on this issue today means it will be done in the future", said Ts. Davaasuren, a member of the State Great Khural and the chairman of the Standing Committee on Budget.
The prime minister and other delegates expressed their like-mindedness. If there is no water and no grass, there would be nothing for livestock. Mongolia's brand cannot be created without its livestock. This makes water a priority to the country. At the very least, herders need to be trained to use technology to dig wells.There are plans to drill some 6,000 wells beginning this year to create safe water sources for rural people and their 40 million livestock. Officials at the Ministry of Industry and Agriculture said the plan is likely to be delayed until 2020, due to troubles with finding investment. However, there is huge demand.
But the people of the countryside, their livestock and the pastures they roam face difficulties unless this issue is tackled. Construction will require over MNT 100 billion of investment.
At the forum researchers suggested a number of techniques and practices such as making use of surface water from rivers and lakes, building ponds for water collection, and construction of dams and irrigation channels for agriculture.
The Water Footprint
To give some perspective into how much water is consumed during production, one study revealed that production of a pair of jeans required 11,000 litres of water in total.
"The whole world is now focused on how much water is used in unit production", said G. Dolgorsuren, director of the Tuul River Basin Administration and a consulting engineer. "This aims at reducing inefficient water use and consumption while acting as an approach towards water pricing".
"For example, according to a joint study by the international organisations of Asia, Mongolia has the largest water footprint". She added, "According to this criterion, the agricultural products should be more expensive".
Today, Mongolia is listed as the third in the world for its water footprint. How many industrial entities and policy makers in Mongolia know anything about their water footprint? How often is this aspect considered in decision making?
Though officials of the Ministry of Environment and Green Development admitted this was a new concept to the country, they said they were pursuing a detailed study on Mongolia's water footprint. Delegates at the forum said this idea must be specifically linked to how it might affect branding efforts in the country.
The Valley of the Tuul River
One concern for many Mongolians who are directly dependent on and have a great respect for the country's river water is concentrated on the fate of the Tuul River. The State Inspection Agency found the river met the fifth tier of pollution criteria in 2011. Meanwhile 60 to 70 percent of Mongolia's GPD is produced in the Tuul river valley.
Last year, the Law on Water Pollution Fees and the Law on Urban Water Supply and Sewage were approved, but have done little to force people to respect their water resources more and use them more wisely. In any case, the laws are not even enforced very strongly. To do that precise measurement of water usage and ways to identify who is consuming water from where is needed, but water authorities lack the equipment and skills to do so.
The River Basin Organisation was established by the Environment Ministry to help identify who is polluting the country's water sources. Yet, it is difficult for them to fine offenders and collect those fees because they are not able to administer fines without a detailed assessment of the reason for the fine.
"The polluters are varied, including tanneries, car washes, and hairdressers. That's why there should be a fining system that suits each [industry]. We want to carry out a study to calculate this, but we are not able to do so", said Tuul river authority Dolgorsuren.
Both foreign and national legal entities should use water efficiently, and those who fail to do so should be risking have their operations shut down or facing enormous fees.
G. Munkh-Erdem, director of watering and coordination at the environmental ministry said the Law on Natural Resource Utilisation had introduced a number of new concepts for regulation. He said efficient technology should be used for production and water should be recycled using treatment processes that meet global standards, while failing to do so should be at the risk of accepting steep fines.
"It is important that large organisations such as those for mining use water efficiently. They should reuse their water", said Munkh-Erdem.
Companies that are able to comply with this law will avoid harsh punishments and, instead, will receive subsidies and assistance.
Housing projects for the city's ger districts have been included in the urban development plans to span to 2030. Though this sounds like good news to most, it could mean disaster for water supply. Water consumption is far less in the ger districts than in apartments, with water usage ranging eight to nine litres and 100 to 120 litres, respectively. With about 60 percent of Ulaanbaatar's population belonging to the ger areas, the consequences could be dire if they all became apartment dwellers without learning the importance of proper water usage.
Participants unanimously agreed opportunities existed for branding Mongolia's agricultural products such as meat, milk and dairy products, skins and hides, and cashmere and wool.
"Mongolia has an opportunity. A brand is an endless resource and is the resources fund for our future generations. Thus, our discussion on this issue today means it will be done in the future", said Ts. Davaasuren, a member of the State Great Khural and the chairman of the Standing Committee on Budget.
The prime minister and other delegates expressed their like-mindedness. If there is no water and no grass, there would be nothing for livestock. Mongolia's brand cannot be created without its livestock. This makes water a priority to the country. At the very least, herders need to be trained to use technology to dig wells.There are plans to drill some 6,000 wells beginning this year to create safe water sources for rural people and their 40 million livestock. Officials at the Ministry of Industry and Agriculture said the plan is likely to be delayed until 2020, due to troubles with finding investment. However, there is huge demand.
But the people of the countryside, their livestock and the pastures they roam face difficulties unless this issue is tackled. Construction will require over MNT 100 billion of investment.
At the forum researchers suggested a number of techniques and practices such as making use of surface water from rivers and lakes, building ponds for water collection, and construction of dams and irrigation channels for agriculture.
The Water Footprint
To give some perspective into how much water is consumed during production, one study revealed that production of a pair of jeans required 11,000 litres of water in total.
"The whole world is now focused on how much water is used in unit production", said G. Dolgorsuren, director of the Tuul River Basin Administration and a consulting engineer. "This aims at reducing inefficient water use and consumption while acting as an approach towards water pricing".
"For example, according to a joint study by the international organisations of Asia, Mongolia has the largest water footprint". She added, "According to this criterion, the agricultural products should be more expensive".
Today, Mongolia is listed as the third in the world for its water footprint. How many industrial entities and policy makers in Mongolia know anything about their water footprint? How often is this aspect considered in decision making?
Though officials of the Ministry of Environment and Green Development admitted this was a new concept to the country, they said they were pursuing a detailed study on Mongolia's water footprint. Delegates at the forum said this idea must be specifically linked to how it might affect branding efforts in the country.
The Valley of the Tuul River
One concern for many Mongolians who are directly dependent on and have a great respect for the country's river water is concentrated on the fate of the Tuul River. The State Inspection Agency found the river met the fifth tier of pollution criteria in 2011. Meanwhile 60 to 70 percent of Mongolia's GPD is produced in the Tuul river valley.
Last year, the Law on Water Pollution Fees and the Law on Urban Water Supply and Sewage were approved, but have done little to force people to respect their water resources more and use them more wisely. In any case, the laws are not even enforced very strongly. To do that precise measurement of water usage and ways to identify who is consuming water from where is needed, but water authorities lack the equipment and skills to do so.
The River Basin Organisation was established by the Environment Ministry to help identify who is polluting the country's water sources. Yet, it is difficult for them to fine offenders and collect those fees because they are not able to administer fines without a detailed assessment of the reason for the fine.
"The polluters are varied, including tanneries, car washes, and hairdressers. That's why there should be a fining system that suits each [industry]. We want to carry out a study to calculate this, but we are not able to do so", said Tuul river authority Dolgorsuren.
Both foreign and national legal entities should use water efficiently, and those who fail to do so should be risking have their operations shut down or facing enormous fees.
G. Munkh-Erdem, director of watering and coordination at the environmental ministry said the Law on Natural Resource Utilisation had introduced a number of new concepts for regulation. He said efficient technology should be used for production and water should be recycled using treatment processes that meet global standards, while failing to do so should be at the risk of accepting steep fines.
"It is important that large organisations such as those for mining use water efficiently. They should reuse their water", said Munkh-Erdem.
Companies that are able to comply with this law will avoid harsh punishments and, instead, will receive subsidies and assistance.
Housing projects for the city's ger districts have been included in the urban development plans to span to 2030. Though this sounds like good news to most, it could mean disaster for water supply. Water consumption is far less in the ger districts than in apartments, with water usage ranging eight to nine litres and 100 to 120 litres, respectively. With about 60 percent of Ulaanbaatar's population belonging to the ger areas, the consequences could be dire if they all became apartment dwellers without learning the importance of proper water usage.
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