Asia Foundation launches Frugal Rehabilitation Methodology

Economy | Mining
en_amarsaikhan@montsame.mn
2016-04-18 17:33:58

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ This week, the “Engaging Stakeholders in Environmental Conservation– II” project (ESEC II), implemented by The Asia Foundation jointly with the Mongolian Ministry of Mining, launched a key foundation product of the project–the Frugal Rehabilitation Methodology (FRM), reports Asia Foundation.

The FRM has been specifically developed for the rehabilitation of lands degraded by artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM).

The event brought together over 150 participants who represent a diverse range of stakeholders both international and local, including officials from central and local governments, local environmental inspectors, ASM NGOs and international organizations.

The project has received financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

The FRM Launch is an opportunity for ESEC II to profile the importance of this methodology–a unique toolkit that allows rehabilitation to be achieved in an economically affordable, socially acceptable and ecologically viable way. The FRM is a document that has emerged as a result of ESEC II’s collaborative efforts to implement Frugal Rehabilitation Demonstration (FRD) projects across 17 locations within nine aimags.

The toolkit is designed to help ASM NGOs demonstrate their environmental responsibility through best practice and provide support to the formalization process within the ASM sub-sector by improving such ASM NGOs’ “license to operate” through encouraging and guiding positive engagement with stakeholders on social and environmental responsibility.

“Through sustained collaboration with national and local government, and through the committed efforts of formalized ASMrs across the country, the Frugal Rehabilitation Methodology is tool that has evolved through practical demonstration,” said Jonathan Stacey, Project Manager for the ESEC II Project.

“From the positive results we have seen, we know it works–it is affordable, local communities have welcomed its results, and the positive recovery seen at demonstration sites indicate that it is ecologically viable.”

The launch introduced two main publications–the FRM Field Handbook and the Frugal Rehabilitation Demonstration (FRD) Case Studies Handbook. These publications, when used in conjunction, will serve to inform and guide ASM NGOs and partnerships to scale-up and replicate frugal rehabilitation best practices, significantly reducing the impacts of ASM across the country.

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our programs address critical issues affecting Asia in the 21st century—governance and law, economic development, women’s empowerment, environment, and regional cooperation.