Rod Austin: Mongolian herders who took on a corporate behemoth
Displaced from their
land by multinational mining companies, nomadic herders defied the odds to
preserve their heritage for future generations.
Just 10 years ago, the
district of Khanbogd, in southern Mongolia’s Omnogovi province, was a barely
known region of eastern Asia. That changed with
the discovery
of gold and copper deposits below the seemingly endless Gobi desert,
home to a community of herdsmen who had worked hard to make a living from this
barren land. So when their government forged an agreement that threatened to
deprive them of the land they had owned for generations, they fought back for
their way of life, taking the mining giant Rio Tinto and others to court in
order to safeguard their heritage.
“We hope the fight of
the eight of us can serve as an example all over Mongolia, and for others
who have the same problem with mining,” said Battsengel Lkhamdoorov, leader of
Gobi Soil, the collective that took the mine owners to court. The four-year fight
resulted in a landmark victory, a tripartite settlement that
allows for an equal, mutually sustainable coexistence between mine owners, the
town of Khanbogd and herders.
Mongolia, one of the
least densely populated countries on Earth, has only 1.9 people per sq km. Once
ruled by warlord Genghis Khan, its population consists mainly of herders living
in traditional “gers” – circular white, yurt-like structures, that infrequently
dot the desert landscape, surrounded by sheep, goats, camels and horses.
The construction of
the Oyu Tolgoi – meaning Turquoise Hill – gold and copper mine (pictured below)
was led by Rio Tinto Group, Ivanhoe Mines and the Mongolian government.
Construction began in 2011, displacing the herdsmen, who claim they were reduced
to collecting waste from the mine just to make a living. They soon decided they
had to fight back... read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/apr/08/mongolian-herders-corporate-behemoth
