Golden Gate Friends of Mongolia

Reports

GGFOM mission to Mongolia, September 2007.

In September 2007, GGFOM staff took a tour of the Onggi River area in the Uvurkhangai Province. The trip, sponsored by Goldman Prize recipient Munkhbayar Tsetsegee from Onggi River Movement, took the GGFOM-ers through an open gold mining site.

Onggi River Movement has successfully shut down 35 out of 37 gold mines along the river. Photos from the GGFOM expedition depicting not only the mines but the ninjas (informal miners not affiliated with the mining companies) that live there can be found in the photos sections of our website.

The work accomplished by the movement is one step in a long journey to restore Mongolia to her natural beauty. Mining sites that were shut down have been abandoned and no reconstruction policies have been enforced. The next phase of the movement will be to not only restore the river but the land around it that has been mangled by the miners. GGFOM looks forward to collaborating with environmental NGOs and the movements to find ways to make that land livable and profitable for Mongolia’s nomadic population.