A/HRC/45/10/Add.3 2. Recommendation on ger areas RECOMMENDATION 11: Address and bridge the gap between the ger and apartment areas in terms of the level of water and sanitation services, continuity of services and water tariffs. In doing so, devise short- and long-term measures to provide a gradual improvement in access to water and sanitation, with the aim of ensuring continuous services and connection to piped networks: 1. During the initial phases, envisage and plan to increase the number of water kiosks and improve the quality of pit latrines (A/HRC/39/55/Add.2, para. 82(f)(i)), 2. During the subsequent phases, with the expansion of piped networks to the ger areas, establish a specific programme or subsidy mechanism to support those who are economically vulnerable in improving the facilities in their homes that are needed to access a piped network and to pay fees for connecting to piped networks (A/HRC/39/55/Add.2, para. 82(f)(ii)). 39. Owing to the socioeconomic changes in the 1990s, and the impact thereof, internal migration to urban and peri-urban areas have been on the rise, with migrants settling in the ger areas. Migration of the nomadic population to urban areas has extended the ger areas in cities and villages and the speed of population growth in urban areas, mostly due to migration, was faster than the expansion of services provided, including water and sanitation. In 2018, most internal migrants in Mongolia settled in the ger areas on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar which made up about 60 per cent of the city’s population. Furthermore, it was estimated that 40 percent of them were believed to need support in order to improve their economic and living conditions, reporting low access to health services and employment opportunities.17 The expansion of the ger areas occurred without prior planning and management, causing problems in relation to water, sanitation and wastewater disposal. The expansion also exacerbated unequal access to drinking water and sanitation services between those living in apartments or houses with centrally connected pipes and those living in the ger areas without a piped connection (A/HRC/39/55/Add.2, paras. 4 and 5). 40. The Special Rapporteur notes that the initial phase of bridging the gap in access to water and sanitation between the ger and apartment areas are in progress, finding information about projects aiming to improve water and sanitation within current service systems. One example is a 2.8 million USD project funded by the Asian Development Bank, aiming to support local livelihoods through improved household sanitation and strengthening the lifecycle for on-site (de-centralized) fecal waste management, including the collection, transport and composting of waste, in collaboration with communities, the private sector, and civil society organizations. In particular, the project aims to reduce soil pollution in the ger areas by building 1,500 sanitation units with on-site waste management by 2020, in association with the Ministry of Tourism and Environment.18 Local entrepreneurial solutions have also been presented, such as the relatively affordable dry toilets being sold by Local Solutions, a non-governmental organization.19 Despite these projects, the Special Rapporteur maintains that there is an urgent need for a unified and monitored Government policy on water and sanitation services, to ensure continued and effective progress. 41. Addressing the need for a long-term programme beyond improving local services, the Government has taken steps to connect the ger areas to piped connections. As part of the “Government policy on housing and public utilities”, the Government has set a target to increase the number of households in the ger areas living in apartments connected to public 17 18 19 IOM, “Mongolia Internal Migration Drives Urbanization, De-population of Rural Areas: IOM”, 23 October 2018. Asian Development Bank, 49113 -Mongolia: Managing Soil Pollution in Ger Areas through Improved On-site Sanitation Project, 2016, 2. Jorlon, A Campaign to Change Mongolia’s Toilets Led by “Local solutions”, a Mongolian NGO, 2019. 13