Open Collections

Purevjav, Bolormaa

University of British Columbia

The question of sustainability for water resources has emerged as a universal challenge in mining regions because of increased water use, pollution, water scarcity and depletion. In developing countries such as Mongolia, the mining industry is an important sector that contributes to economic growth and employment creation. Water access, water quality, and community engagement in mining regions are among the major challenges faced by the Mongolian mining industry. Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) is a holistic water management approach that applies principles of economic efficiency, social equity, and ecological sustainability to achieve water sustainability in a region. The objectives of this research study were to understand stakeholders’ views and perspectives on IWRM and to identify water use practices, barriers, and obstacles to improved practices in the Gobi Desert and Central forest-steppe mining regions. The aim was to identify processes that can help to improve access to water and water quality in these regions. This research applied a qualitative approach and employed three data collection methods: 1) semi-structured interviews; 2) field observations and 3) documents and academic articles reviews. Research participants were representatives from mining companies, local communities, government, and river basin administrations. Grounded Theory (GT) was used for data analysis to identify processes. In the Gobi Desert region, processes contributing to improving IWRM were: 1) participatory water monitoring, 2) coal processing plant educational visits, 3) tri-party stakeholder meetings, 4) mine water monitoring, 5) independent water auditing, and 6) mining environmental management plan implementation. In the Central forest-steppe region, processes contributing to IWRM were: 1) community outreach, 2) the community's fight against illegal gold processing in the Orkhon River; and 3) cleanup of the Khangal River polluted by the mine.

Text

2024-04-08

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/87705

Mining Engineering

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/