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Trust Fund gets in gear

The Mongolian Environmental Trust Fund (METF) is now legally established. The fundoffice has the financial support of UNDP and the Government of Mongolia. This fund aimsto fund projects which would contribute to the conservation and permanent management ofthe land, its natural resources including the diverse ecosystem.

The first meeting of the board of directors of the METF was held the second week ofJanuary, where the President and the Vice-President of the METF were elected and theactivities for 1998 were discussed. Dr. Z. Batjargal, ex-Minister for nature and the environ-ment, and Mr. Douglas Gardner, Resident Coordinator of the UN, have been elected as thePresident and the Vice-President of the METF.

The board of directors consists of nine members including minister Tsagaan, ministerAdyasuren and others.

Youth-21 Conference and Ecoforum draws over 170delegates and creates wave of excitement

By David Sadoway, MAP-21 PIU

"Is it possible to balance ecological protectionwith economic growth? What is today's num-ber one social issue in Mongolia for youngpeople? What is your dream for the 21st cen-tury in Mongolia?" These questions challengeddelegates at the first ever Youth Conferenceon sustainable development that took place thispast February 4-7* at Ulaanbaatar's Youth Cul-tural Palace.

The Mongolian government declared 1998,"Year of Mongolian Youth" and this was thefirst ma-,jor eventin linewith thedeclara-t i o n ." T h i sopen, in-teractiveapproachis new forMongolia",s a i dP r i m eMinister

Prime Minister Enkhsaihan is third of left

as del-e g a t e spresented him with a listing of their priorityproblems, along with 15 pilot proposals.

Over 170 youth delegates from 21 aimagsand members of the general public heard over30 key speakers, including the President, Par-liament Speaker, Prime Minister, UN ResidentCoordinator and Minister of Nature and Envi-ronment.

Besides hearing speakers' ideas, attendees

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were encouraged to take control of their fu-ture in a participatory exercise involving 15brainstonning subgroups led by trained youthfacilitators. Subgroups met to list the key so-cial, ecological and economic issues facing thenation today. Many groups identified "educa-tion reform, poverty, air pollution and lack ofjobs", as the number one issues affecting theirlives.

Groups were challenged to craft specific so-lutions and pilot projects to help resolve the

many prob-lems. Onegroup decidedc o m m u n i t ytoilets andpublic show-ers wouldhelp solve se-rious sewageand sanitaryproblems inMongolia 'sger communi-ties.

Anothergroup pro-posed a

"chess boardscheme for

combating desertification", in Bayanhongoraimag. Their approach would see eco-teamsplanting stabilizing vegetation. There was alsoa suggestion for a "Green Cities Programme".It envisioned pollution reduction, ecologicalrestoration and job creation for unemployedyouth.

(cont. on page 4)

METF aims to fundenvironmental projects

Update on HIV/AIDSprevention activities

By Nicholas Bates,fflV/AIDS Health Adviser

As the issue still remains a hot one in Mongolia,different groups express their wish to beinginvolved in these activities. Recently, two stu-dent groups approached the HTV/AIDS/STDproject team wanting to conduct HTV activi-ties. These groups are encouraged to amal-gamate and form a student's AIDS Club, whichwas launched at the TOP-10 disco on Friday,January 16. Copies of the Mongolian AIDSBulletin (a United Nations-funded magazine)were distributed at the launch as were lubri-cated condoms, (kindly supplied by UNFPA).

Short speeches were made on AIDS preven-tion by the project team members and a gamewas played with patrons of the disco.

Similarly, other groups initiated interestingactivities. For instance, a group of actors ap-proached the project with the idea of

(cont. on page 2)

Contents:Trust Fund gets in gearYouth 21 - Conference and EcoforumHIV/AIDS updateCoffee and economyNews in a flashIn the fieldUN Secretary General's letter to the President ofMongoliaUp close and personalArrivals/departuresUN mission to the country

Internal Newsletter of UNDP's Partnership for Progress in Mongolia * Issue #3 * February 1998

News in a flash

By the beginning of February theUN agencies in Mongolia will have set

up a working group on the activities of theyear to support and to contribute to the ac-tivities already planned by the Governmentof Mongolia. In these activities UNICEF willtake a leading role.

Already the UN has supported the Youth21 conference in early February. Other plansinclude supporting young journalists.

T TNDP's Blue Bag Project picked*J up kudos from Mongolian Environment

Minister Mr. Adyasuran at a December ex-hibition. According to Ms. Davasuren, Na-tional Project Coordinator for UNDP's En-vironmental Public Awareness Programme(EPAP), Adyasuran "was really interestedin the Blue Bag Project and is planning tovisit the project and encourage all the peopleto be involved in such an activity." The BlueBag Project helps women from poor house-holds to organize small recycling businesses.

The comments were made at the exhibi-tion marking the I Oth anniversary of theMinistry of Nature and the Environment.Held at the National Museum, EPAP showedoff its impressive range of awareness-rais-ing materials - from brochures to calendarsto cards and posters.

"The exhibition was visited by the PrimeMinister, parliamentarians, government of-ficials and schoolchildren," said Davasuren."The exhibition played its role in helpingto raise public awareness on the activitiesof the ministry and other environmentprojects. People learned a lot."

A group of local self-governanceauthority representatives from six

aimags (Sukhbaatar, Khovd, Khuvsgul,Uvurkhangai, Tuv and Dundgovi), parlia-mentarians and other government officialsvisited Sweden at the beginning of Febru-ary for a study tour under Capacity Build-ing for Self Governance Project (SIDA, cost-shared by UNDP). The study tour co-fundedby UNDP and the Government of Swedenlooks forward to familiarize the local huralchairmen with the experience of communemanagement in Sweden.

The UN Secretary General's letterto the President of Mongolia

On Human Rights Day, 10 December 1997,we launch a year in which the rights guaran-teed to every member of our human family willbe a central theme for the United Nations andthe international community. The Fiftieth An-niversary of the Universal Declaration of Hu-man Rights and the Five-year implementationReview of the Vienna Declaration andProgramme of Action from the World Confer-ence on Human Rights in 1993 challenge us torenew and strengthen our commitment to hu-man rights.

The cause of human rights is at the core ofthe mission ofthe United Nations. I should liketo call on you to support the global effort toreinvigorate the international system for thepromotion and protection of human rights,which has developed over the past 50 years.The endeavour of the High Commissioner forHuman Rights to mainstream human rights intoUnited Nations activities system-wide will bean important part of our contribution to the an-niversary year.

Much remains to be done to ensure that thegoals ofthe Universal Declaration are realizedfor every individual, but I am confident thatthe international community will respond to thischallenge in a spirit of mutual respect and soli-darity. We need greater efforts at the interna-tional and national levels to prevent conflicts,eradicate poverty, and empower people throughhuman rights, democracy, and development.

I call on Governments to take appropriatemeasures to turn solemn commitments intoconcrete actions for the betterment of all people.I encourage Governments that have not doneso to sign and ratify outstanding human rightstreaties, and to develop national plans of ac-tion to promote greater respect for human rights.Let us complete universal ratification of theConvention on the Rights ofthe Child and workwith determination for universal ratification ofthe Convention on the Elimination of All Formsof Discrimination Against Women by the year2000, as was called for by the World Confer-ence.

Kofi A. Annan,UN Secretary General

Mongolian NGOs give topmarks to HDR

It has been over six months since the firstMongolian Human Development Report andwork has started on the 1999 Report. ThatReport will be closer to an "action programme"according to Japanese human developmentexpert, Professor Ryokichi Hirono. Hirono vis-ited Ulaanbaatar on a whirlwind one-week tourearly in February to gauge responses to the firstreport.

In a meeting between six Mongolian NGOsand Prof. Hirono, the Report received praisefor doing what had never been done before:documenting the well-being of Mongoliansfrom a human development perspective. Mr.Tuvshintogs, President of Mongolian ChildrenOrganization's Association, found the Reportintegrated the welfare of children very well.He would like to see the 1999 report more fo-cused on the well-being ofthe family and tacklethe thorny issue of herder children droppingout of school.

Ms. Gerelsuren, President ofthe MongolianWomen's Federation called the Report "a greatcontribution to human development inMongolia" but wanted to see more detailed dataon the state of women, including "what shareof national wealth is held by women."

Prof. Hirono told the meeting the next reportneeds to present lessons learned in improvinghuman development in Mongolia. Structurally,the 1999 report will be divided into two parts,with the first summarizing "events that havetaken place in the last two years as well as themost pressing issues facing society. The sec-ond part will comprise information on theaimag level," he told local paper, The MongolMessenger.

Prof. Hirono is the President of the JapanSociety for International Development and theChair of the Mongolian Development PolicyGroup of Japan. He teaches at Seikei Univer-sity in Tokyo. He was instrumental in the de-velopment of the first global human develop-ment report and has visited Mongolia 25 timessince 1990.

(cont. from page 1)AIDS Activities

developing short dramatic scenes showing howHIV is transmitted and the first performance washeld at UFO disco; a meeting between the projectteam and the homosexual community inUlaanbaatar, where the training needs of this com-munity were ascertained.

The AIDS Foundation was launched on 23 Janu-ary 1998. Several private sector and NGO organi-zations pledged money for the Foundation. For in-stance, the Mongolian Red Cross Society pledgedTg 1 million, the Olympics Committee Tg 1 mil-lion, the International Lions Club and its branchin Ulaanbaatar city pledged Tg 500,000 each.Mongolia Consulting Services donated condomsworth Tg 1 million, Tuv aimag Tg 100,000. Mostimpressive was the donation by miners of Shive«Gobi of a day's salary.

Blue Sky Bulletin

Internal Newsletter of UNDP's Partnership for Progress In Mongolia * Issue #3 * February 1998

In the fieldThe View from the Gobi desert

From a filipino development worker pointof view

It takes six hours or so to reach the MiddleGobi, six hours or so without any green thing,bodies of water or significant landmark in sight.I wonder how the car driver was able to findhis way to our destination under these condi-tions. There are no zigzag roads or uphill climbseither.

Along the way, I saw several big herds of sheep,cattle and horses and small herds of camels. Iwonder how such big groups of animals cansurvive and even multiply with just dry grassand no water. They probably have adjusted ge-netically under this condition, or there mustbe something here which keeps them going.

Looking beyond what the bare eyes can see,the greatest resource that Mongolia possess isits people, the lifeblood of every nation's de-velopment. Put in the national vision of whatthey want to be and you have the heart to keepdevelopment going all over the land. One cansee the potentials of the Mongolians from theirintricate art works, their enthusiasm to acquirenew knowledge and their eagerness to meetother people who can possibly share with themsomething new.

The vastness of the land overwhelmed me! Thisis not a surprising reaction from someone com-ing from a small country. Land is the secondbiggest resource of the country. The vast po-tential of Mongolia's land resource is still tobe tapped to improve the quality of life of itspeople. The hostile climate can be tamed us-ing appropriate technology, proper timing, se-lection of suited crop species and varieties anda little help from some friends from differentparts of the world. With lots of sunshine thewhole year round, Mongolia has huge agro-in-dustrial potentials. The people just need to beexposed to other ideas and try what will workout for them and get the less-privileged coun-try folks into the mainstream of economicgrowth.

I have also noticed that eco-tourism is a bud-ding business in the countryside. Eco-tourismcan provide additional sources of income to agreat number of people. But the Mongolianauthorities should legislate measures to regu-late the negative effects of too much commer-cialization of tourism to the environment andto its people.

Likewise, Mongolians should be on guardagainst unbalanced industrialization so as notto sacrifice the resources which they have atpresent just for the sake of misconceived de-

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velopment. In any undertaking, people shouldalways take into consideration what will hap-pen in the future. We should give the next gen-erations of Mongolians the legacy of enjoyingfresh clean air and safe environment. The con-cept of lasting development is one, which canbe passed on from one generation to another.

Up close and personal

Interview with Ms. Myagmarsuren,housekeeper, UNDP

When did you start working in UNDP?From 1996Do you see any changes at the time youstarted and now? rI got used to my •work. Feel morelconfident.What kind ofperson are youlI think, I am alfriendly, honest!person with good!communication!skills.What do you cx- l jpect from people Isurrounding]you?I expect them to|be friendly.Your back-1ground?Bakery technolo-'gist.Your family?Married with a daughter.Your hobby?I like walking, going to the country and alsodoing my housework.What is your favorite color?I like dark blue color.Do you think you are happy? Why?Yes, I have a good family and job.How do you see your future?I really want to learn a foreign language, spe-cifically, English.

Reafl aboutthe UN m Mongolia

More and more it is becoming crucial thevarious agencies of the United Nations co-operate in development activities. Every yearthe UN Resident Coordinator's Office(RCO) for Mongolia produces a report de-tailing the activities of the UN. The 1997 re-port highlights cooperation between the UNagencies and opportunities for future coop-eration. Copies of the report are availablefrom the RCO or the United Nations Infor-mation Shop at UNDP headquarters.

News in a flash

U nder UNDP's MAP-21 Project,which aims to define a sustainable de-

velopment strategy for Mongolia in the com-ing century, aimag action programmes aregoing to be approved in February this year.These aimag action programmes will be re-flecting strategic plans for developing eachaimag until 2020.

Ms. Chuluuntsetseg, MAP-21 Informationmanager said: "each aimag will develop itsown action programme, reflecting and basedon the specificities of each of them. This isthe first time when aimags undertake suchresponsibility, when they are asked to lookat the development from many angles: notonly the economic side, but social and en-vironmental sides as well. By adopting theseaction programmes, each aimag will defineits direction in development."

Gachuurt settlement is located about21 km from Ulaanbaatar. One of three/

small pilot projects under MAP-21 is beingimplemented there. With the funding of US$30,000, the Urban Sustainable Agricul-tural Settlement Project is to upgrade thelivelihoods of the inhabitants of the settle-ment by protecting the environment andcreating jobs.

The site was visited by all environmentproject managers and coordinators. Underthe pilot project a straw-bale house for of-fice use and a green house were built. Inthe future, the project is going to recyclewaste to produce fertilizer.

Under the Asia-Pacific DevelopmentProgramme, a group of government of-

ficials will attend the information, commu-nication and technology workshop to beheld in Malaysia on 23-25 February.

The regional workshop on Values andGovernance in Asia is a part of UNDP'songoing work on governance in the Asiaregion.

rT~lhe UNDP Reference Unit is-1- moving and getting a new name - the

United Nations Information Shop. Soon tobe located in the former Polish Embassybuilding steps away from the UNDP office,its doors will open to the public at the endof February. The development collection willbe expanded and the Shop will offer moremagazines for readers. It will also distrib-ute to users all UN publications producedfor Mongolia and provide a free-of-chargeInternet cafe.

Internal Newsletter of UNDP's Partnership for Progress in Mongolia * Issue #3 * February 1998

"You have to taste every-thing for politeness"

Ms. Pie Meulenkamp, a newly-joined Dan-ish JPO, had her first trip outside the capitalrecently. The joint UNDP and Poverty Alle-viation Programme Office fact-finding trip wasinvestigating opportunities for small projectloans of US $ 120 in Domogovi and Dundgoviaiinags. The loans are funded by the NewZealand government and are for poor female-headed households with children of preschoolage. NGOs will be identified to help and su-pervise those women.

"This project is really to give a group ofpeople a chance to change their situation frombeing hopeless to having some hope for thefuture," said Meulenkamp. "Hopefully, someof the women I met will benefit from thisproject and will have a better life than beforethe project. The trip allowed me to know bet-ter how tough it is. The soum is actually muchbigger than I thought (five gers). I got familiarwith some of the traditions and customs, likeyou have to taste everything for politeness."

(cont. from page 1)

Clearly many youth have problems with thepresent education system. "Khurd-2000"would see an introduction of social and eco-logical ethics into the education curriculum.

Other groups suggestedless rigid, participatoryeducation and intense

i order to com-bat poverty and unem-

ployment in the beleaguered aimags.Many delegates said they wanted to dupli-

cate the participatory approach used in theirconference when they returned to their homeaimags. Tsetsgee Puntsagiin, an event orga-nizer said "writing project proposals or busi-ness plans is a good exercise for young Mon-golians. Some will likely be implemented andwe expect that future proposals will be morerealistic."

Around 40 NGOs and private organizationsalso put together exhibits, posters and infor-mation displays to accompany the conferencein the expo-style, Ecoforum. Information andcondoms from the UN, a scarce commodityin many of the aimags, were scooped-up byenergetin delegates

Arrivals/Departures

Ms. N. Saruul joined UNDP from the SorosFoundation as Reference Unit Assistant andwill be assisting with the new United NationsInformation Shop; Ms. B. Bayarma, formerlyofUNICEF, is now an NPO for the UNFPAprogramme; Ms. D. Sukhjargalma moved toUNDP from UNFPA as an NPO on the PovertyAlleviation Programme; Mr. Rogier Graysjoined the LAN team for a seven-month UNDPinternal assignment as an Intranet project teamleader, Canadian librarian Ms. KatherineJohnson joins the Press Institute ofMongoliaas a UNVDocumentalist; Mr. Ajamdar Rai,UNV, heading to Darkhan-Uul aimag as Fam-ily Farming Specialist; Mr. A t s u s h iY a m a n a k a , a Japanese JPO, JuniorProgramme Officer will work with the LANteam.

MoiironiiUNDP projects explained

in new guide

A new guide to UNDP programmes andprojects will be out in February. The Guidecontains brief introductory information on allUNDP-funded projects in the areas of povertyalleviation, environment and governance.Fhe Guide is available both in English and inMongolian. Besides detailing all UNDPDrojects, the guide also provides useful infor-mation on Mongolia and contact names andnumbers. The information will also be mirrored

the United Nations Homepage ai

www.un-mongolia.mn.

Common Database on social statistics

By Kassahun D. Mekuria, UNV

Considering the advantage that will result by synchronizing the effort in data collection activi-ties in Mongolia, and also considering the need for consistency and integrity in data collectionactivities, the office of the Resident Coordinator is in the process of creating a task force forestablishing a common database for the United Nations System in the country. Apart from theneed for integrating the effort in searching and standardizing objective data, a common data base

is now becoming a prerequisite for the general trend in developing a single development

assistance framework. Among others, the main objective of the recent trend in developing asingle framework is to strengthen and/or create a more effective cooperation among the UNsystem, opening a new era for a more integrated response to the countries need. The processleads to an establishment of a single United Nations Development Assistance Framework(UNDAF).

The process of preparing the UNDAF will commence with the preparation of theCommon Country Assessment (CCA), a joint needs assessment tool. The CCA is a common setof indicators at the country level that would form a basis for planning and programming activityand create a common information base for the activities of the UN funds and programmes.

Coffee and economy

Under UNDP's Think Tank Project, an Economic Club was established at the beginning ofFebruary. The main objective of the club is to study and identify the issues of Mongoliannational development policy and strategy, and furthermore to provide the Government ofMongolia with professional support in formulating national economic policy. Mr. Tserendorj,National Project Coordinator, noted that "the economic club is designed in the way that dif-ferent level people - decision-makers, politicians, journalists, economists - can share theirideas and debate development issues. This is, in my opinion, a timely event to direct andguide the development of the country to the same direction. The first debate will take place inFebruary." The club consists of a chairman (Minister of Finance, Mr. Tsagaan), vice-chair-man (Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister), 26 members and honorary members, includingthe President, Speaker of the Parliament, Prime Minister, UN Resident Coordinator and oth-

We accept letters! All letters should be nomore than 200 words in length. News briefsshould be a maximum of 100 words each.Field reports should not exceed 350 words.

The Blue Sky Bulletin is a publication of theUnited Nations Development Programme inMongolia. The newsletter is published on thefirst of every month. The next deadline forsubmissions is the 18 of each month.All submissions must be sent to B. Zoltuya,Information Assistant, c/o B. Elbegzaya,

UNDP, 7 Erkhuu street, Ulaanbaatar,POBox 49/207.Telephone: (976-1) 321539. Fax: (976-1)326221. E-mail: registrv@undp.org.mnPlease check out the United NationsHomepage at www. un-mongolia. mnSubscriptions to the newsletter are free! Wecan send the newsletter to you electronically,via e-mail, or by post. Just send us your ad-dress and how you would like to receive thenewsletter and we will rash it out straightaway.

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