The office of the President of Mongolia, Public Relations & Communications Division

www.president.mn

2012-06-05

UNEP Executive Director and Under Secretary General of the UN, Achim Steiner: “Champions of the Earth is the most prestigious award of the UN”

President Ts. Elbegdorj met with UNEP Executive Director and Under Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Steiner, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mr. Steiner congratulated the President for being awarded the “Champions of the Earth” award and emphasized that it is the most prestigious award of the UN.
“I officially convey Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon’s congratulations to you for receiving this honorable award. For the UNEP, identifying and announcing the winners of the Champions of the Earth is an event that is important to us. I want to emphasize that the efforts you have made in environmental protection have united many nations, organizations and people,” said Mr.Steiner.
"This is a great honour, not only for me but for our nation," said President Ts. Elbegdorj. We are facing more challenges but if we implement the right policies and unite our efforts, we can promote environmentally friendly sustainable development.
I appreciate that many projects implemented by the UNEP have been success stories. In my country, desertification has been intensifying, and overgrazing of pasture land, and our nomadic way of life has been in danger, along with the fast development of the mining sector, water and soil pollution have been increasing. Legal basis is important in environmental protection. The Parliament has approved a package of bills in this regard.
Mongolia is a renewable energy heaven. A vast opportunity for producing energy using solar and wind energy is present in the Gobi region. Investors from many countries have been expressing their interest in cooperating with us. Just recently, 50 megawatt capacity wind farm was constructed and put into operation. Our initiative to build the Asia renewable energy super grid has been attracting the attention of the international community” said the President.
He proposed a number of ideas on expanding Mongolia’s cooperation with the UNEP. For instance, the Mazaalai protection project, which is geared at protecting the Gobi bear whose number has been declining steadily. “We have experience of success from the past. 20 years ago, we only had less than 30 Takhi which we re-naturalized and now we have 400. We would like you to work with us to protect the Mazaalai.” The President also proposed a special project on the proper utilization of renewable energy resource. Mr. Steiner supported his proposals and committed to translate them into reality. Mr. Steiner agreed on sending a team of experts to Mongolia this summer.
He also acknowledged the effective implementation of President Ts.Elbegdorj’s National Tree Planting Day with gratitude and exchanged views on expanding the project throughout the world.
The “Green Future” project initiated by UBS television came up with the idea of identifying “Eco-Envoys” which has been successfully taking effect under the auspices of President Ts.Elbegdorj. The two talked about exchanging the Mongolian “Eco-Envoys” with those around the world.
Mr. Steiner was very interested in the Mongolians’ eco-friendly way of life and inquired about it during the meeting.
“I am happy that the President of Mongolia, who was born to a herder’s family, won the “Champions of the Earth” award in the area of policy leadership” said Mr. Steiner at the end of the meeting.