July 15, 2015
Mongolia
Caritas CR in Mongolia would like to decrease the impact of climate change and its risks through a production of energy-saving and environmentally friendly materials using fly ash. The first activity focusing on ecological construction in Mongolia started in 2012.
So far, Caritas has signed a cooperation agreement with eleven professional institutions, universities and academies in three cities in Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan and Erdenet in order to implement the use of ecological construction practices into education in Mongolia. Part of the agreement also included organizing training with participation of 176 teachers. 518 students have chosen this course and nearly 500 manuals were given out in the academic year of 2014/15. The students were familiarized with how to improve the health and safety conditions at work.
In May 2015, a team of Mongolian statisticians and the monitoring company SICA Ltd. have evaluated the awareness and understanding of new approaches of the teachers and students involving environmentally friendly materials and trends for use now and in the future. The survey results showed that the five schools who participated in the activities of Caritas CR had actually included the teaching of "Ecological construction practices" into their syllabuses, one of them being the Mongolian University of Science and Technology. Six other universities are considering this course to open in the next school year (2015/16). Both teachers and pupils expressed a great interest and desire about the ecological construction to monitor future trends in schools where the issue has already been taught. They would like to actively transfer knowledge into practices as well.
Noticeable growth in construction has led to the building of large apartment complexes and new modern neighbourhoods as well as private houses in recent years. There is a considerable increased demand for construction workers and for specialists. Hence, it causes a requirement for more students in this sector. It is also necessary to solve many issues such as lack of compliance with safety regulations, poor quality of construction, or improper handling of construction waste. The themes of the course may be possible ways to overcome these obstacles as well as the development of practical skills.
Education about the ecological construction may have far-reaching impacts for the future. The new construction workers have actively participated in the transformation form of the construction industry in Mongolia.
Activities associated with courses about the problems of ecological construction in Mongolia are financially supported by the European Commission and the Czech Development Agency.
