Ulaanbaatar
Mongolia Urges Global Action to Treat Wastewater as a Resource
Politics
Ulaanbaatar, December 11, 2025 /MONTSAME/. Mongolia’s water resources have decreased by around 7 percent over the long term, while glacier mass loss has reached nearly 70 percent over the past 80 years, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Batbaatar Bat stated during the “Wastewater as a Solution” discussion held as part of the Seventh Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) in Nairobi, Kenya.
The minister underscored that wastewater should not be viewed as polluted water but as a potential drought-resilient resource for industry and food supply. He called on countries to store and reuse wastewater, according to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
In his statement, Minister Batbaatar noted that, as the incoming President of the 17th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, Mongolia plans to place circular water management at the core of a new initiative aimed at strengthening water and land management in drought-prone regions. He added that increasing investment in innovation, capacity building, and integrated solutions would enable wastewater to serve as a driver of sustainable development and a vital resource for improving the living conditions and resilience of communities in arid and vulnerable areas.
“Wastewater is not waste; it is a resource full of potential. Mongolia stands ready to work with all partners to scale up these opportunities globally,” the minister said.
