NPR on Mongolia, mining, and decline of pastoral nomadism

This is a bookmark to note the very good series under way NPR’s Morning Edition on the changing economy in Mongolia. With a mining-driven boom in progress, the first segment I heard looked at the risk to water supplies in pastureland and the desiccation of grazing areas resulting from plumes of dust that rise from trucking lines through the Gobi.

Today’s installment addressed labor shifts, as mine employment poaches drivers from travel companies and Mongolians note that foreign miners seem to make more.

There’s a lot more in there, and it is good to hear people in their own words, even if we don’t understand the language. Check it out.