Shaping City Greening Policies: Exploring Environmental Concerns Across Different Generations in Darkhan-Uul, Mongolia

This research, a collaborative effort, aims to bridge the gap between governance recommendations at the international level for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and local practice (local perspectives). It explores local stakeholders’ environmental concerns through demographic attributes, including gender, education, and generational cohort. Stakeholders' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding environmental concerns were assessed within the context of the local mid-term restoration program, Green Darkhan-2030, in Darkhan City, Mongolia. 266 participants from the "Green Darkhan-2030 forum," who are considered key stakeholders of the local restoration program, completed our survey. To ensure the reliability of the survey findings, interviews were conducted with 16 stakeholder representatives, including residents, government officials, NGOs, research and training organizations, and international organizations. The data were categorized into five groups using 24 indicator statements: environmental policy knowledge, climate change awareness, attitudes on environmental pollution, land degradation awareness, and sustainability practices. We saw variations in environmental concern across different generations, including Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers, with young Millennials aged 27 to 35 demonstrating significantly higher levels of environmental concern. The research findings also provide valuable insights into the impact of gender differences on pollution and degradation concerns. While education significantly influences environmental concerns, we found that it had a limited impact on climate change awareness, urban greening, and environmental policy knowledge. These research findings have since been incorporated into the Darkhan City midterm restoration program, ensuring that the perspectives and insights of stakeholders will help to shape future efforts.