February 17, 2014
Mongolia
In February 2014 a conference about green urban development, which was organised by Caritas Czech Republic, took place in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.
Representatives of various ministries ofgovernment, city administrators of Ulaanbaatar, other institutions of public administration, the Embassy of the Czech Republic and institutions that are partners of Project Caritas Czech Republic met at conference, titled Supporting a greener and more energy efficient construction industry in Mongolia.”” This project is financed by the European Commission, a Czech development agency, the Swedish government and the Building Material Manufacturer’s Association of Mongolia.
The aim of the conference was to mobilize relevant officials and ministries in order to raise awareness about the benefits of a greener and more energy efficient sector and provide illustrations of innovative green practices in Europe and incentive systems or conducive legal frameworks in Europe. Also, representatives from state institutions and civil society were invited to deliver presentations on the current situation in Mongolia.
The key facilitators were officials from The Construction Development Centre, Ministry of Construction and Urban Development, Building Material Manufacturer’s Association of Mongolia and project partner, the Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL). The opening speech was made by Mr Adiyasuren, the advisor to the Minister of Environment and Green Development, and Ivana Grollova, the Czech Ambassador.
The conference was divided into three main sessions: Societal Challenges, Market Drivers and Green Urban Development. Under the topic of Societal Challenges, Ms Naranchimeg from The Construction Development Centre made a presentation on „Government strategies toward the construction sector,“ highlighting the necessity of close collaboration between private sector and government agencies. From a European perspective, Mr AkeIverfeldt, executive vice-president of IVL, introduced the overall priorities related to green urban development in Europe and the different steps leading to sustainable development, focusing on „Policies, legislation and standards, Certification and verification, Good examples of practices and Capacity building.“
For the session on market drivers, Ms Anna Jarnehammer, director of IVL Climate and Sustainable Cities unit, gave an overview on Public and Private Partnerships and Green Procurement practices in Europe. Mr O.Lkhagvadorj, the director of Building Material Manufacturer’s Association of Mongolia focused on the challenges and priorities in the Mongolian construction market and the urgent need for incentive tools and regulations for green construction products and practices. During the final session, Mr. Sumkhuu from the Ministry of Construction presented latest government policies and initiatives on green construction development and Daniel Holm, an IVL researcher, gave his insights on some European project experiences in green urban development.
The conference was the starting point to launch the advocacy activities of the project as it helps Caritas CR to map the main stakeholders, start to define strategy for the project toward specific institutional actors and liaise with a wide range of relevant authorities related to the construction sector and green development.
The decision-makers conference was considered as an important initiative by representatives from the various public institutions. The conference will be followed by the organization of a study tour for decision-makers on green construction in Czech Republic at the end of May 2014.
The study tour will be organized in partnership with the Czech Green Building Council and will bring together heads of departments of relevant ministries, directors of key state implementing agencies, representatives of the office of president and members of the private sector.
