Featured Commitment – Mongolia

Country: Mongolia
CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...: Improving Environmental Information Access for Citizens
National Action Plan: 2014-2016

While Mongolia is a compliant country in the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), many agreements and contracts related to natural resources extraction remain closed and inaccessible to citizens. Following the Minister of Environment’s declaration of 2014 as a “year for environmental transparency,” government and civil society sought to incorporate EITI recommendations that Mongolia improve access to information for local communities into the national action plan. This starred commitment has become a substantial program that has led to the publication of over 22 datasets online on a government website, including specific sets on pollution and other OGP commitments. In a country that is characterized by the activity of the extractives industry and concerns about the effects of that industry, the substantial progress made on this commitment has increased public awareness of pollution and its sources, and has the potential to make a transformative change in how the extractives industry operates in Mongolia. The other portion of this commitment – an agreement on maintaining a publicly accessible list of the companies involved in pollution – is yet to be fulfilled, and the Mongolian IRM researcher has indicated that the government should complete the creation of a publicly accessible database of polluters, with particular focus on ensuring there is access to that information in rural regions.