Since 1940, the volume of Mongolia’s glaciers, which provide more than 70 percent of the country’s
freshwater,
has decreased by approximately 28 percent. Specifically, in the Mongolian Plateau, more than 25 percent
of lakes dried up between 1987 and 2010, partly due to the glacial reduction. This has decreased the plateau’s
groundwater storage by nearly 3 mm per year. This issue is critical because
groundwater is Mongolia’s primary
source of water. Moreover, in a country where precipitation has declined by 7 percent between 1940 and 2015,
environmental challenges have induced Ih Nuudel (the big migration), an en masse migration of rural Mongolians
to cities, namely Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital. These movements have resulted in overcrowding and the growth
of informal settlements. Thus, many Mongolians in Ulaanbataar face limited access to public services and poor
living conditions, perpetuating the water scarcity crisis for Mongolians. Therefore, in cities like Ulaanbatar,
where half of Mongolia’s 3 million-person population lives, the current system of dependence on freshwater is
unsustainable for the long term.
Currently, only 30 percent of Mongolian households have access to safe drinking water, and 56 percent
have access to proper sanitation facilities. UNICEF has found that the levels of radon, uranium, and lead in
many Mongolians’ drinking water are higher than the World Health Organization’s safety standards. Other metals
like lead, arsenic, chromium, and copper are also common and pose health risks such as damage to the nervous
system or organs, or cause diseases such as cancer. The effects of these toxic chemicals are even more prominent
for children who may be exposed from an early age and develop devastating side effects as they grow. In addition
to the consequences on the human population in Mongolia, the lack of quality water harms the millions of
livestock animals that one-third of Mongolians depend on for food and income. Many Mongolian herders are forced
to rely on faraway shared wells to obtain water for their animals, taking a full day just for one round trip. Lack of
sufficient water also damages Mongolia’s economy, as 13 percent of Mongolia’s GDP comes from livestock.
Additional risks from Mongolia’s scarcity of water include the nation’s reliance on groundwater for heating.
In districts like Bayanzrkh, Ulaanbaatar’s most densely populated district, winter temperatures routinely fall below
-30℃. Without access to water to be used for heating, mass deaths, job insecurity, and urban instability will result.
However, despite these ramifications of global warming, Mongolia’s water problem does not lie within its policy.
In fact, Mongolia has a robust legal and policy framework established to support water security. The primary challenge
is the lack of funding and strategic decision-making to implement these policies. One action that has been taken to
mollify these hindrances includes the World Bank partnering with Amgalan Thermal Plant, a heating plant in Mongolia;
MCS Coca-Cola LLC; and the Mongolian government to assess how treated wastewater could be safely reused for industrial
operations such as heating. Another is Mongolia’s work with The National Dialogue on Water, which is part of a regional
initiative with the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea, the Asia Water Council, and the OECD. The National
Dialogue has explored how investment planning and budgeting can help improve water demand management in Mongolia.
While the impact of climate change on Mongolia is enormous and will require large-scale action from environmental
groups and the government, it is the job of every civilian to ensure that we are taking as good care as possible of our
Earth. Mongolians know how precious water is, calling it chandmani erdene, or precious in the Mongolian language. For
those of us who are privileged to have seemingly unlimited access to safe and clean water that does not typically
harm our health or our food supply, we must act with gratitude and self-awareness. Reducing the amount of water we let down the drain and conserving our resources
will lessen the global water scarcity crisis.