Below, please find the non-technical summary of the ESDD carried out in Onon-Balj.
Background
Onon-Balj legacy landscape is led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) who is partnering with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) in Mongolia for the implementation of program activities. The program area encompasses Onon-Balj National Park’s (OBNP) 4,255 km2, and an additional 7,2780 km2 buffer zone in Dadal, Binder, Bayan-Adraga, and Norovlin counties of Khentii province and Bayan-Uul county of Dornod province along the Mongolia-Russia border.
The program went through environmental and social due diligence (ESDD) developed by Oréade-Brèche Inginérierie de l’Environnement et du Développement, from March 2023 to January 2024, as part of Legacy Landscapes Fund’s (LLF) grants selection process. For further details on Onon-Balj legacy landscape (LL), please consult the program page.
Methodology
The due diligence work involved an initial desktop review to identify potential program environmental and social gaps or shortcomings, remote interviews with TNC and WWF, and a field mission. Stakeholders consulted in person included representatives of ministries and international donors, and stakeholders from the five counties where the program is located such as local authorities, sectoral technical officers, elected representatives, community organizations, and herders.
Main Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts
The program’s most significant risks were the potential confusion between the buffer zone council and the new program co-management council, unequal program benefits distribution and access, including the accessibility to the grievance mechanism, rangers’ equipment inadequacy, and increasing impact of tourism activity on natural resources.
Legacy and contextual risks identified in the LL were the local people’s unequal access to program activities and administrative procedures due to their geographically remote position, insufficient waste management due to tourism growth, increasing limitations to local people’s access to natural resources, pasture overgrazing, and agriculture fences’ potential impacts on wildlife.
ESDD Categorization
Onon Balj LL has been classified as a category B (moderate risk) program by the ESDD carried out by Oréade-Brèche consulting. Both contextual risks and risks related to funded program activities were classified as B (moderate), resulting in a B overall risk category.
Foreseen Mitigation Measures as per ESAP
A comprehensive environmental and social action plan (ESAP) was designed in close collaboration with TNC and WWF to ensure the Onon-Balj program has sufficient capacity for implementing safeguards to close gaps and mitigate the program’s risks and impacts. The ESAP main activities include, but are not limited to, assessing local communities’ constraints, especially vulnerable groups, regarding program participation and the development of a stakeholder engagement plan. The ESAP further foresees capacity building on governance, supporting a participative process for the development of Onon Balj National Park management plan and the update of the buffer zone management plan. This includes integrating community-based organizations’ (CBOs) natural resources management plans into the buffer zone management plan and county development plan, ensuring alignment with local needs and a community engagement framework. Tourism agreements need to include specifications of environmental and social norms, waste management plans be developed, and cultural and historic site protection be included in tourism management plans.