A strategy for the development of the mining sector in Armenia is being developed. RA Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure has delegated this work to "Grant Thornton Consulting" expert company. Some results of the work done by the expert working group for the development of the strategy over the past few months were presented at Responsible Mining Policy Forum in Yerevan on December 15, 2021.
The representatives of the civil society present at the forum made proposals to improve soil management sector and to include them in the strategy development stage.
Levon Galstyan, a member of "Armenian Environmental Front" initiative, geographer: "If we want to change the policy, we have to change the methodology. At least three members of the mining strategy development team have worked for mining companies for 15 years. They are interested stakeholders. We are repeating the same story as it has been for 10-15 years. There should be three people in that group who are representatives of communities, local governments, who are environmental and social beneficiaries. There should be equal participation of the opposite side in that group.
An important component of the strategy should be how it turned out that all the new mines in the last 20 years have failed. they either do not work or are abandoned. Today we are supporting the opening of new mines. But diagnoses need to be evaluated. What was the reason for that failure?”
Anahit Simonyan, the representative of Center for Human Rights Research: "The document on the strategy can be posted on the joint website for the publication of draft legal acts - e-draft.am, get more comments and feedback. There is such an experience. The documents have been uploaded and feedback has been received. It's the most direct platform for collecting feedback.
As for the members of the expert group, we should not talk about the effective inclusion of opinions for the protection of the citizen, public interest and human rights. We must talk about their equal participation in the development phase, from an equal starting point. However, the professional group does not include any representatives from this huge sector, where there are very good experts. The coordination by the state should have assumed equal participation of both parties and business interests, and the public.
At the same time, it would be desirable for the methodology and stages of public discussions on the strategy to be presented in a clear enough way, to be made public in advance, so that participation is accessible to all stakeholders.”
Oleg Dulgaryan, President of "Center for Community Mobilization and Support " NGO: "The process should not become something that civil society will begin to fight against. We are talking about a killing and failed industry. If the right prescription is not given, there will be a struggle against this sector and this document. Here, the principle of conflict of interests must be excluded, there must be a balance of opposing parties. In addition, dealing with people at the community level should be used. To get a real picture, most of the fieldwork needs to be in the affected communities.
If we meet with the local government, we must also meet with the residents whose health and lands have been damaged. The implementation of field work at the internal level should be the target."
Sona Ayvazyan, Executive Director of Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center (TIAC): "Unless we understand the symptoms of industry failure, we cannot have a policy. The state must give the answers to that failure. Regarding the conflict of interests, I would like to mention that even if people act very professionally, the issue of institutional conflict of interests can at least raise doubts. There are many conflicting interests; in this case, the public and private interests must be clearly separated."
Nazeli Vardanyan, Director of "Forests of Armenia" NGO: "There must be a change in the methodology of the process. The involvement of different stakeholders in the strategy process must be ensured from the very stage where we stopped. The public should trust this document so that problems will not arise during its implementation. The fact that today the mining industry is assessed as a profitable sector in Armenia speaks of the one-sided direction of this strategy. These companies did not give any profit to the state. Whatever we have should have been evaluated.
Meanwhile, the economic losses and the state of this sector have not been assessed. We cannot have a normal strategy if the economic and environmental damage is not assessed. In the course of this process it is necessary to distinguish between the mines of the Soviet years, the failed mines opened after independence and the new mines. Until all this is brought to the legal field and does not work properly, the damage is not minimized, we cannot talk about new mines, it must be addressed in the policy. At the same time, the assessment of human health must be included in these processes.”
Tehmine Yenoqyan, President of "Green Armenia" NGO, a Gndevaz resident: "In a normal state we should have mechanisms of mutual restraint. If the government, represented by the two ministries, mentions that the prospects for the development of Armenia's strategy are the mining industry, then from the point of view of litigation, the citizen should be able to fully defend their rights in court.
Meanwhile, the entire burden of proof is on the citizen. The state does not undertake any function. In connection with the development or non-development or balancing of new mines, we must understand who owns the balancing tool, who will weigh, which scales will be used to weigh.”
Gegham Margaryan, Head Department of Agriculture and Nature Protection in Vayots Dzor Regional Municipality: "We have many applications related to polymetallic mines in Vayots Dzor Region, most of them with incomplete documents. We write dozens of letters to Environment Ministry, but we do not receive any response. The mining company changes its name to a new one after receiving a community rejection of the mine and submits the application with the new name: today the company is called “Vayq Metal”, tomorrow its name is “Voske Vayq” but the business is the same. Can’t the Ministry ot see that the documents are the same? If, after two public hearings in the community, the community does not agree to the operation of the mine, then that company should be restricted from entering the community."
December 22, 2021 at 09:38