Mongolia has a population of only 3 million people – yet the country is almost five times bigger than Germany. But even there, in the world’s most sparsely populated country, the pressing issues of climate change and environmental protection have long become topics of vital importance for humans and nature. The fourth edition in the series of water management conferences, which was launched in 2018 and is organised by the association Khuvsgul Club Germany, took place on 17 and 18 October as a physical event, enabling delegates to continue their lively exchange on issues such as environmental protection, water and wastewater disposal and sustainable tourism.

In his opening presentation, David Höltgen (Wilo-Foundation), who attended the conference together with Gero Böhmer (WILO SE) and Munkbhat Choijiljav (Wilo Mongolia), talked about the foundation’s international funding activities and presented concrete funding projects from the areas of social entrepreneurship and WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene). These issues play a key role in Mongolia as well. Before the conference, David Höltgen and Gero Böhmer had the opportunity to meet the German Ambassador to Mongolia, Jörn Rosenberg, in the Mongolian capital of Ulan-Bator and talk about Mongolia’s level of development.

This year, for the first time, local environmental initiatives and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) took part in the water conference, which was supported financially for the third consecutive time by the Wilo-Foundation. At the conference, they presented their projects and solution approaches developed by civil society stakeholders, for example for dealing with plastic waste and the increasing pollution of Lake Khuvsgul, Mongolia’s most important drinking water reservoir.

One example is the local NGO “ECO MUMMYS”, which started out as a neighbourhood initiative in 2019 and has now grown into a network of 3,500 Mongolian women implementing various projects, including for local environmental protection (e.g. production and sale of sustainable packaging material). In his keynote speech, Gero Böhmer (WILO SE) outlined the opportunities that the use of hydrogen technologies could open up in Mongolia, which led to an interactive discussion on the use of alternative energy resources. On the second day of the conference, Professor Michael Walther, UNESCO Chair on Environmental Sciences in Central Asia, explained the increasing environmental problems from a scientific perspective and, in particular, emphasised the urgent need for establishing an efficient and sustainable wastewater management system in Mongolia.

This year, the conference was attended for the first time by representatives of the Hanns Seidel Foundation (representative office Mongolia), the Berlin-based foundation “Handwerk stiftet Zukunft” (which could be translated as “Craft trades are building the future”) and scientists of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. In his final speech, Karsten Wittke, coordinator for municipal development policy in the town of Baruth/Mark (the town twinning and project partnership, launched 11 years ago, between Baruth, Germany and Murun, Mongolia, was once the starting point for hosting the conference) summarised the outcomes of the conference, expressing his satisfaction with the projects and solutions presented, and optimism that they would lead to further concrete sustainability projects for Mongolia.

Background: 

The town twinning between Baruth/Mark (Brandenburg) and Murun (Mongolia) was established in 2011. Since then, various measures and projects of municipal development cooperation have developed, including the annual water conference launched in 2018. Today, the municipal partnership is being supported by the embassies of both countries and by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is regarded as a prime example of successful international partnerships between towns and cities.