A delegation from Mongolia”s Ministry of Environment and Green Development is hoping to take home practical lessons from a recent visit to Israel.

Staff members of the Mongolian ministry were here at the end of December, as guests of the Ministries of Environmental Protection and Foreign Affairs. Inter alia, the delegates were interested in learning from the Israeli experience in the fields of management and prevention of water pollution, as well as land rehabilitation.

Mining and quarrying activities in Mongolia have caused soil contamination and other environmental damage; the Mongolian delegates wanted to learn about treatment methods and about the laws and regulations Israel”s Ministry of Environmental Protection is promoting in order to deal with these environmental issues.

The delegation met with officials from the ministry and from the Water Authority, as well as with representatives of companies that deal with land rehabilitation, biological treatment of contaminated soil, and treatment of other environmental woes. Site visits included the Shafdan Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Environmental Services Co., a government-owned company in Ramat Hovav under the auspices of the ministry.
The group also expressed great interest in further cooperation with Israel”s Ministry of Environmental Protection on topics such as implementation of the Clean Air Act and an air quality monitoring system, and coping with desertification.

While Mongolia has the lowest population density in the world, it faces significant environmental challenges. The effects of desertification and climate change have damaged the ability of its grazing animals to survive, and has prompted a mass migration of Mongolian residents from rural areas to the capital city of Ulan-Bator. Today, 45% of the 2.75 million Mongolians live in the capital, which has registered a sharp increase in air pollution levels in recent years.