Enablers

Government Inaction

There are 4 major ways one can combat the tragedy of the commons, namely via 1) Government intervention, 2) Education, 3) Prosocial small groups/communities, and 4) Moral, religious and ethical appeals.

Typically, this problem would be best solved if all 4 ways worked harmoniously together, however it is unfortunate that all except the government is invested in solving this environmental problem.

So far, the Mongolian government had done little to encourage prosocial behaviour and discourage anti-social behaviours through rewards and taxes, or provide an affordable alternative to the raw coal as fuel. This has resulted in a few protests and formations of environmental activist groups such as Parents Against Air Pollution.

On December 26th of 2016, Purevkhuu Tserendorj the face of air quality activism in Mongolia (Gardiner, 2019), organized a protest in Ulaanbaatar, sending a message to the government to do more to address the severity of the heavy smog (Despite frigid weather, Mongolians protest worsening smog, 2016). Following that year, in 2017, there was another round of protesting, calling for the government’s attention to the severity of the heavy smog (Mongolians Demonstrate in Capital Demanding Action on Smog, 2017).

However in response to these demonstrations, Oyunkhorol Dulamsure, the Mongolian Minister of Environment and Tourism weakly argued that the government had spent over $37 million reducing air pollution between the years 2011 and 2015 (Mongolians march for action against air pollution, 2017), which says little to nothing about improving the current state of affairs. In fact, it may have even triggered citizens to suspect corruption, as this kind of government scandal is not new to Mongolians (Davaasharav & Munkhchimeg, 2018).

Additionally, few Mongolians have faith in their air quality improving under their government due to their ties with China.

“I don’t believe the government will do enough to reduce pollution in coming years,” (Davaasharav M. , 2019)

Sukhgerel Dugersuren, a chair of the mining oversight group called Oyu Tolgoi Watch observed that while the Chinese government is more than willing to finance coal mines and powerplants, they are much less interested in investing in renewable energy (Gardiner, 2019). Thus, the Mongolian government may be more reluctant to change out of coal usage to clean energy. This is a pity, as Mongolia has plentiful sunshine and wind that would greatly benefit Mongolian citizens if these natural resources were put to good use as renewable energy.