"Rio Tinto-linked mine still not fulfilling promises to Mongolian herders", 28 August 2024

…, nomadic herders in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert faced a daunting prospect. One of the world’s largest copper-gold mines, Oyu Tolgoi, was settling in, and herder communities were being forced to resettle without consultation. For many of them, everything fell apart that year when they faced the prospect of losing access to water and lush pasturelands.

But they turned to an accountability group for help, filed two complaints against Oyu Tolgoi — and, in a rare success story, reached a deal with the mining company in 2017. Herders, local government officials and company representatives met, formed a three-party council to resolve disputes, and reached an agreement on 60 separate commitments…

But years later, experts say important commitments remain unmet. A report by the three-party council, Accountability Counsel (an NGO that advocates for communities affected by internationally funded projects) and the NGO Oyu Tolgoi Watch found that two-thirds of the commitments were either complete or in progress ... Four years on, little has changed, they tell Mongabay. Some of the most significant commitments — on ensuring herders’ access to water, pasture and markets — are making no progress.

Mongabay reached out to Oyu Tolgoi’s office for comments but didn’t receive a response by the time this article was published.

… Herders were initially hopeful after the agreement led to the fulfillment of many commitments. This included $1.2 million in compensation for lost livelihoods; training and scholarship programs for herders’ children; student scholarships; and a project to plant 10,000 trees. But the delays in implementing improved access to water and market, establishing a slaughter line, and traditional livelihood restoration have raised questions…