"From Paper to Progress - Tracking agreements between nomadic herders and Mongolia's largest copper mine".

...herding became even harder when the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine began building its vast network of infrastructure on one of the world's largest copper deposits...In 2012 and 2013, herders in Khanbogd Soum filed complaints to an accountability office tied to the World Bank Group...which led the parties to establish the Tripartite Council (TPC), a freestanding body of representatives from the mine, herders and the local government to resolve issues related to herders, water and pasture.

In May 2017...the TPC reached two final agreements to resolve herders’ complaints...these agreements contain 60 separate commitments to address issues related to pasture and water resources, monitoring of impacts and community relations, compensation for lost livelihoods, and the mine’s disruption of the Undai River and sacred Bor Ovoo spring...

In February 2019, Accountability Counsel published a report analyzing progress in the first 18 months of agreement implementation...some of the most important commitments still required significant work, with successful implementation far from guaranteed. This website builds on that report and provides an update of findings and recommendations as of May 2020...The most important commitments to herders meant to benefit the community at large and provide the means to sustain their livelihoods, such as building new wells across the soum, opening new pastures, and connecting herders to markets, have either not started or only just begun...Their success will require not only sustained effort, but ongoing consultation with the herder community to make sure each commitment brings the intended benefits...

Recommendations...

• Increase transparency and improve communication with the local herding community...

• Establish a robust, independent monitoring and review mechanism..

[Read the Mongolian progress report here: https://tpcprogress.com/mn/]