Residents of UB participate in World Water Day events

In celebration of World Water Day, which Mongolia has observed since 2004, residents across Ulaanbaatar participated in various water conservation events last week.

On Friday 22 March, World Water Day, a team of 60 officials from the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Green Development (MNEGD) and the Tuul River Basin Administration (TRBA), along with university students, gave out leaflets advising residents on ways to save water. The leaflets were distributed to some 1,100 motorists and over 2,000 residents passing through the intersections at the Central Post Office, the Mongolian Natural History Museum, the National University of Mongolia, and the Mongolian State University of Education, between 11 am and 12 midday that day.

This event followed a public speaking competition organized by the MNEGD, the Fresh Water Reserve and Nature Protection Center (FWRNPC), and the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, at which 15 students delivered speeches related to water. The Minister of the MNEGD, S.Oyun; Member of Parliament and the head of the Standing Committee on Environment, Food and Agriculture, G.Bayarsaikhan; and the Performance Unit Chief of the Mongolian National Water Committee (MNWC), Ts.Badrakh, judged the competition and selected the best speakers. Representatives of the FWRNPC, the MNEGD, and the TRBA also spoke at the competition.

Also that day, the Ulaanbaatar City Education Authority, the Water Supply, Sanitation and Service Management Council of Ulaanbaatar (WSSSMC), and Action Contre la Faim (ACF) Mongolia announced a “Water significance in our life” photo and video competition among 7th to 11th grade students. The deadline for the competition entries is March 29.

Aiming to raise awareness among adolescents of the pressing water issues facing Mongolia, pupils at General Education Schools were taught about the vital need for water on March 22, as part of an initiative led by the MNWC.

On Sunday, residents of Ulaanbaatar participated in an event titled “Let’s travel the future without water for two hours,” in which they kept their taps turned off between 3 pm and 5 pm with the aim of promoting the importance of water, encouraging reduced water consumption and saving 10,000 cubic meters (m3) of water. The event was organized by the WSSSMC, the Ulaanbaatar Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (USUG), and the Apartment and Public Business Entity Administration Agency.

In addition, an “Advanced Water Technology” exhibition, organized by the MNEGD in cooperation with the Mongolian National Chamber of Trade and Industry was held to display water-saving technology that can reduce water use by up to 50 percent.

International World Water Day has been celebrated annually on 22 March since 1993 as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

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