Monks learn how mine and community work together
In the Mongolian province where Buddhist monk Bataar Tumurbaatar lives, mining is thriving, but unchecked industry also is devastating the land.
Now he and two other monks are in Montana for a two-week environmental education exchange to learn about responsible mining and how community involvement can help bring it about. The visit is sponsored by The Tributary Fund, a Bozeman nonprofit.
The Venerable Bataar Tumurbaatar is in charge of foreign affairs and environment at the Gandanpunchogchin Monastery in the Uvurhangay Province. He traveled to Montana with the Venerable Tsambanurdey Namsrai, vice abbot of the Erdenemandel Monastery in the Sukhbaatar Province and the Venerable Amarbold Dondog, the secretary responsible for environmental affairs at Mongolia’s head monastery.
The three men were accompanied by Chimga Luvsandash, who serves as Mongolian country director for The Tributary Fund. They have spent time at mines, including the Stillwater Mine, at schools and with nonprofits that deal with mining issues.
On Wednesday, they visited Northern Plains Resource Council in Billings to learn about how the environmental nonprofit worked with the Stillwater Mining Co., and local community members to forge the Good Neighbor Agreement in 2000.
This is the third education exchange for Buddhist leaders, Tributary Fund Executive Director Sue Higgins said. The Tributary Fund acts as a bridge between religion and science, she said.
“We are not a religious organization,” Higgins said. “We’re a conservation organization that provides good, unbiased scientific ecological information to community leaders.”
In countries where habitat is threatened, Higgins said, religious leaders often are the community leaders.
With the discovery of precious metals and ores in the landlocked country of 3 million people situated between Russia and China, Mongolia has caught the attention of large and small mining companies.
“Many of them are responsible mining companies; many are not,” Higgins said. “And there’s a lot of destruction going on to landscapes and water resources.”
Bataar, in his long, gold robe, echoed Higgins’ thoughts about what has happened in the province where he lives. Mining started booming in his province about 15 years ago, he said.
“In that time, the local community didn’t have a sufficient knowledge about mining impacts,” he said, his words translated by Ariunbolor “Bobo” Dorjsembe of Bozeman. “And now it’s obvious to the community that the province is experiencing negative impacts due to the mining.”
The monks and their traveling companions spent an hour at the Northern Plains Resource Council building with community organizer Svein Newman. They listened as Dorjsembe interpreted Newman’s words about the Good Neighbor Agreement and asked questions about how it was implemented.
Newman talked about the intersection of two pristine rivers, the Stillwater and the Boulder, famous for their trout fisheries, and one of the richest veins of platinum and palladium in the world.
When a mine became a distinct possibility, people in Sweet Grass and Stillwater counties feared water contamination, Newman said. They also worried about losing the area’s rural character and battling high traffic on the country roads.
Because state agencies failed to enforce environmental protections, Newman said, local affiliates of Northern Plains Resource Council used litigation, administrative appeals and public education to protect the watersheds.
Stillwater Mining responded to community concerns and came to the table. Eventually, a consortium of mining officials, Northern Plains representatives and local people worked together to create the agreement.
“It’s really sort of a wonderful story because last year the Good Neighbor Agreement celebrated its 10th anniversary,” Newman said. “And it’s been a national model for partnership and cooperation.”
That’s particularly impressive, he said, because it didn’t begin that way. It took a hard-fought campaign and community effort to arrive at the agreement.
Afterward, Bataar said he will take the tool of public engagement back with him to Mongolia to hopefully make a difference.
“From this visit I understand Montana is a great example of conservation, community engagement and how people can be educated and thus be powerful,” he said. “And so this is something I really hope to spread out to people when I get back.”
Now he and two other monks are in Montana for a two-week environmental education exchange to learn about responsible mining and how community involvement can help bring it about. The visit is sponsored by The Tributary Fund, a Bozeman nonprofit.
The Venerable Bataar Tumurbaatar is in charge of foreign affairs and environment at the Gandanpunchogchin Monastery in the Uvurhangay Province. He traveled to Montana with the Venerable Tsambanurdey Namsrai, vice abbot of the Erdenemandel Monastery in the Sukhbaatar Province and the Venerable Amarbold Dondog, the secretary responsible for environmental affairs at Mongolia’s head monastery.
The three men were accompanied by Chimga Luvsandash, who serves as Mongolian country director for The Tributary Fund. They have spent time at mines, including the Stillwater Mine, at schools and with nonprofits that deal with mining issues.
On Wednesday, they visited Northern Plains Resource Council in Billings to learn about how the environmental nonprofit worked with the Stillwater Mining Co., and local community members to forge the Good Neighbor Agreement in 2000.
This is the third education exchange for Buddhist leaders, Tributary Fund Executive Director Sue Higgins said. The Tributary Fund acts as a bridge between religion and science, she said.
“We are not a religious organization,” Higgins said. “We’re a conservation organization that provides good, unbiased scientific ecological information to community leaders.”
In countries where habitat is threatened, Higgins said, religious leaders often are the community leaders.
With the discovery of precious metals and ores in the landlocked country of 3 million people situated between Russia and China, Mongolia has caught the attention of large and small mining companies.
“Many of them are responsible mining companies; many are not,” Higgins said. “And there’s a lot of destruction going on to landscapes and water resources.”
Bataar, in his long, gold robe, echoed Higgins’ thoughts about what has happened in the province where he lives. Mining started booming in his province about 15 years ago, he said.
“In that time, the local community didn’t have a sufficient knowledge about mining impacts,” he said, his words translated by Ariunbolor “Bobo” Dorjsembe of Bozeman. “And now it’s obvious to the community that the province is experiencing negative impacts due to the mining.”
The monks and their traveling companions spent an hour at the Northern Plains Resource Council building with community organizer Svein Newman. They listened as Dorjsembe interpreted Newman’s words about the Good Neighbor Agreement and asked questions about how it was implemented.
Newman talked about the intersection of two pristine rivers, the Stillwater and the Boulder, famous for their trout fisheries, and one of the richest veins of platinum and palladium in the world.
When a mine became a distinct possibility, people in Sweet Grass and Stillwater counties feared water contamination, Newman said. They also worried about losing the area’s rural character and battling high traffic on the country roads.
Because state agencies failed to enforce environmental protections, Newman said, local affiliates of Northern Plains Resource Council used litigation, administrative appeals and public education to protect the watersheds.
Stillwater Mining responded to community concerns and came to the table. Eventually, a consortium of mining officials, Northern Plains representatives and local people worked together to create the agreement.
“It’s really sort of a wonderful story because last year the Good Neighbor Agreement celebrated its 10th anniversary,” Newman said. “And it’s been a national model for partnership and cooperation.”
That’s particularly impressive, he said, because it didn’t begin that way. It took a hard-fought campaign and community effort to arrive at the agreement.
Afterward, Bataar said he will take the tool of public engagement back with him to Mongolia to hopefully make a difference.
“From this visit I understand Montana is a great example of conservation, community engagement and how people can be educated and thus be powerful,” he said. “And so this is something I really hope to spread out to people when I get back.”
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