Ulaanbaatar
Symposium on water rights and Khuvsgul lake preservation held
Environment
Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Within the frames of ‘Mother ocean eco-culture tour’ aimed at supporting the application for UNESCO World Heritage listing of Khuvsgul lake, a symposium titled ‘Water rights-Human rights: Preservation of Khuvsgul lake’ was held on July 8.
During the conference, Head of ‘Mother Khuvsgul lake’ NGO, hydrologist J.Oyumaa and ecologist Craig Mason emphasized that Khuvsgul lake and its surrounding areas will have a positive influence on global warming and climate change with its location, resources and pristine nature. The participants agreed that by inscribing the lake in the UNESCO World Heritage list, the external and internal factors for the lake preservation will be formed.
Head of ‘Patrons of Khuvsgul lake’ NGO B.Bayarmaa highlighted that land allocation near the lake has dramatically increased with the development of tourism. In 1997, there were only three tourist camps, while the number reached 117 this year with more unlicensed camps operating near the lake. The estimated carrying capacity of the lake exceeded twice. As a result, it causes algae bloom in the lake, water pollution and growth of lichen on rocks. The danger of pollution is near, unless we take urgent measures to protect Khuvsgul lake, which contains about 70 percent of the country’s freshwater and accounts for 2.5 percent of the world's freshwater reserves.
