ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA – May 10, 2017 – The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the Ministry of Construction and Urban Development (MCUD) of Mongolia today officially kicked-off their partnership to mainstream green growth in Mongolia’s construction sector and urban development planning.

Rapid urbanization over the last two decades has seen Mongolia become one of the most urbanized countries in Asia, with 72% of its population now living in urban areas. Due to a lack of effective urban planning, informal settlements, known as ger areas, have become common across Mongolia. In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital city, only 46% of households have access to centralized heating, water and sanitation services, with the remaining 54% living in ger areas relying on inefficient and unhealthy coal stoves for cooking and heating, and water from communal distribution points.

GGGI’s Green Cities Program in Mongolia is supporting the Government of Mongolia to enforce proper urban planning standards and to create an enabling legal and regulatory environment for cities to grow in a green, resilient and inclusive manner.

Under this cooperation agreement, GGGI will support the MCUD through technical and advisory services across five key areas:

• Improvements to the urban planning practice through amendments to the Law on Urban Development and its associated standards and by-laws;
• Development of green and smart cities criteria and its evaluation systems;
• Developing a Green Building Products database;
• Preparation of bankable green urban infrastructure projects; and
• Sharing and dissemination of institutional knowledge.

“This cooperation recognizes a strong will of Government of Mongolia to realize its green development potential” said M.r Gunbold Baatar, Director-General of Department of Urban Development & Land Affairs. “We believe that with GGGI’s support we will be able to incorporate economic, social and environmental aspects to our urban planning practice which will ultimately enable Mongolian cities to grow in a sustainable, efficient, and productive manner”.

The Government of Mongolia has formulated and approved important overarching sustainability policies in recent years, including the Sustainable Development Vision 2030 of Mongolia (2016), the Green Development Policy (2014), and its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). However, Mongolia is now moving into a new phase characterized by implementation of its global commitments and mainstreaming green growth at sector level.

About the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)

Based in Seoul, GGGI is an intergovernmental organization founded to support and promote green growth. The organization partners with countries to help them build economies that grow strongly, are more efficient and sustainable in the use of natural resources, less carbon intensive, and more resilient to climate change. GGGI works with countries around the world, building their capacity and working collaboratively on green growth policies that can impact the lives of millions. To learn more about GGGI, see https://gggi.org and visit us on Facebook and Twitter.