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Armenian Environmental Network
PO Box 56336
Washington, DC 20040
Tel: (443) 850-0146
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.armenia-environment.org
Armenia Tree Project
65 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472
Tel: (617) 926-TREE
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.armeniatree.org
PRESS RELEASE
December 19, 2012
Armenian Government Ignores Concerns Raised by 14 Organizations about Teghut
Mine
The Armenia Copper Programme (ACP), a division of the Vallex Group
registered offshore in Liechtenstein, has begun operating a controversial
mining project initiated in 2007 in the northern village of Teghut, Armenia.
Preliminary work on the project began with the clearing of a portion of the
pristine Teghut Forest to create a massive tailing dump for the toxic waste
left after mineral processing. Currently, the company is aggressively
removing a mountain in order to reach the underground deposits of copper and
molybdenum.
The Republic of Armenia has openly made mining a key part of its economic
development strategy for the country, despite widespread public protest on
environmental, economic, and social grounds. There are more than 400 active
mines and 19 tailing dumps in Armenia, a small country the size of the US
state of Maryland. Scientists have reported major health risks in
communities around the mines scattered throughout Armenia. Human rights and
environmental activists have also protested violations of property rights
and the loss of rare and endangered ecosystems and biodiversity.
According to an expert at a recent conference on the socio-economics of
mining held at American University of Armenia, the value of the minerals in
the Teghut mine are $20 billion, yet only $300 million is anticipated in
taxes and salaries from this project, or a mere 1.5 percent. This is widely
understood to be grossly inadequate to cover the environmental and social
costs that a project of this type and magnitude will generate.
A coalition of 14 prominent organizations including Armenia Tree Project
(ATP) and Armenian Environmental Network (AEN) sent a letter to President
Serzh Sargsyan and Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan on October 30, requesting
an independent Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Teghut mining
project.
"Cases brought in opposition to the operations in Armenian courts have been
cursorily and improperly dismissed on strictly procedural bases without
proper examination as to the substance of the claims. The Environmental
Impact Assessment and public notice requirements are fatally flawed. The
irreparable damage already done to Teghut, and the yet greater damage that
will be done to the region if mining continues, demand immediate attention,"
reads the letter, in part.
The joint letter requests the EIA in order to: 1) comply with domestic and
international laws, 2) determine and present an accurate analysis of the
environmental impact of the Teghut mining operations, 3) address the
potential public health impacts of the Teghut mining operations, 4) take
alternative development options to mining into consideration, and 5) restore
public faith and trust in government. For the full text of the letter, go
to: http://tinyurl.com/teghut-eia
The coalition recently received a response to the letter from Edgar
Pirumyan, Ministry of Nature Protection Chief of Staff, who said that an EIA
was completed within the scope of the law and that the project was therefore
approved. For the full text of the reply, go to:
http://tinyurl.com/mnp-reply
"We are disappointed with the perfunctory response through the Ministry of
Nature Protection whose primary mission is the protection of Armenia's
environment. While an environmental assessment was conducted for the Teghut
mining project, the organization conducting it, LMI, is a subsidiary of
Vallex, which is the project sponsor. By international standards, the LMI
assessment certainly cannot be considered an 'independent' environmental
assessment," notes ATP Managing Director Tom Garabedian.
"We restate our request that a valid independent environmental impact
assessment be conducted before any further work at the Teghut site is
undertaken. We are heartened by the public scrutiny which the Teghut project
has received and support the efforts of the activists who are petitioning
the Armenian government. In a recent visit to California, the Prime Minister
expressed his commitment to Armenia's environment. We hope that there is a
willingness of the government to reexamine Teghut and mining in Armenia as a
whole," concludes Garabedian.
"The Teghut issue resonates with Armenians near and far because it weaves
together a number of contemporary issues: rule of law; transparency in
decision-making; public health considerations; and public access to
information," says Ursula Kazarian, President of AEN. She continues, "The
unrelenting pillaging of precious and limited natural resources for the
short-term financial benefit of a handful of foreign and Armenian investors
is both tragic and appalling. Despite the government's lackluster response
to our request for an independent EIA, we are encouraged by the increasing
civic engagement we are seeing on the ground and in the Diaspora around this
issue, and we hope to see that momentum continue."
The letter was co-signed by Acopian Center for the Environment, Armenian
American Health Professionals Organization, Armenian American Medical
Association, Armenian American Nurses Association, Armenian American
Pharmacists Association, Armenian Bar Association, Armenian International
Dental Association, Armenian Medical International Committee, Axis of
Justice (Serj Tankian), Civic Forum, haikProject, and World Wide Fund for
Nature, Armenia.
The Armenian Environmental Network's (AEN) mission is to increase
information and engagement among Armenians, in Armenia and in the Diaspora,
and the wider conservation community about environmental issues in Armenia,
while facilitating environmentally sustainable development in Armenia
through responsible partnerships of Diasporan and international resources.
Please visit the website www.armenia-environment.org.
ATP's mission is to assist the Armenian people in using trees to improve
their standard of living and protect the environment, guided by the desire
to promote self-sufficiency, aid those with the fewest resources first, and
conserve the indigenous ecosystem. ATP's three major programs are tree
planting, environmental education, and sustainable development initiatives.
For more information, please visit the website www.armeniatree.org.
PO Box 56336
Washington, DC 20040
Tel: (443) 850-0146
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.armenia-environment.org
Armenia Tree Project
65 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472
Tel: (617) 926-TREE
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.armeniatree.org
PRESS RELEASE
December 19, 2012
Armenian Government Ignores Concerns Raised by 14 Organizations about Teghut
Mine
The Armenia Copper Programme (ACP), a division of the Vallex Group
registered offshore in Liechtenstein, has begun operating a controversial
mining project initiated in 2007 in the northern village of Teghut, Armenia.
Preliminary work on the project began with the clearing of a portion of the
pristine Teghut Forest to create a massive tailing dump for the toxic waste
left after mineral processing. Currently, the company is aggressively
removing a mountain in order to reach the underground deposits of copper and
molybdenum.
The Republic of Armenia has openly made mining a key part of its economic
development strategy for the country, despite widespread public protest on
environmental, economic, and social grounds. There are more than 400 active
mines and 19 tailing dumps in Armenia, a small country the size of the US
state of Maryland. Scientists have reported major health risks in
communities around the mines scattered throughout Armenia. Human rights and
environmental activists have also protested violations of property rights
and the loss of rare and endangered ecosystems and biodiversity.
According to an expert at a recent conference on the socio-economics of
mining held at American University of Armenia, the value of the minerals in
the Teghut mine are $20 billion, yet only $300 million is anticipated in
taxes and salaries from this project, or a mere 1.5 percent. This is widely
understood to be grossly inadequate to cover the environmental and social
costs that a project of this type and magnitude will generate.
A coalition of 14 prominent organizations including Armenia Tree Project
(ATP) and Armenian Environmental Network (AEN) sent a letter to President
Serzh Sargsyan and Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan on October 30, requesting
an independent Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Teghut mining
project.
"Cases brought in opposition to the operations in Armenian courts have been
cursorily and improperly dismissed on strictly procedural bases without
proper examination as to the substance of the claims. The Environmental
Impact Assessment and public notice requirements are fatally flawed. The
irreparable damage already done to Teghut, and the yet greater damage that
will be done to the region if mining continues, demand immediate attention,"
reads the letter, in part.
The joint letter requests the EIA in order to: 1) comply with domestic and
international laws, 2) determine and present an accurate analysis of the
environmental impact of the Teghut mining operations, 3) address the
potential public health impacts of the Teghut mining operations, 4) take
alternative development options to mining into consideration, and 5) restore
public faith and trust in government. For the full text of the letter, go
to: http://tinyurl.com/teghut-eia
The coalition recently received a response to the letter from Edgar
Pirumyan, Ministry of Nature Protection Chief of Staff, who said that an EIA
was completed within the scope of the law and that the project was therefore
approved. For the full text of the reply, go to:
http://tinyurl.com/mnp-reply
"We are disappointed with the perfunctory response through the Ministry of
Nature Protection whose primary mission is the protection of Armenia's
environment. While an environmental assessment was conducted for the Teghut
mining project, the organization conducting it, LMI, is a subsidiary of
Vallex, which is the project sponsor. By international standards, the LMI
assessment certainly cannot be considered an 'independent' environmental
assessment," notes ATP Managing Director Tom Garabedian.
"We restate our request that a valid independent environmental impact
assessment be conducted before any further work at the Teghut site is
undertaken. We are heartened by the public scrutiny which the Teghut project
has received and support the efforts of the activists who are petitioning
the Armenian government. In a recent visit to California, the Prime Minister
expressed his commitment to Armenia's environment. We hope that there is a
willingness of the government to reexamine Teghut and mining in Armenia as a
whole," concludes Garabedian.
"The Teghut issue resonates with Armenians near and far because it weaves
together a number of contemporary issues: rule of law; transparency in
decision-making; public health considerations; and public access to
information," says Ursula Kazarian, President of AEN. She continues, "The
unrelenting pillaging of precious and limited natural resources for the
short-term financial benefit of a handful of foreign and Armenian investors
is both tragic and appalling. Despite the government's lackluster response
to our request for an independent EIA, we are encouraged by the increasing
civic engagement we are seeing on the ground and in the Diaspora around this
issue, and we hope to see that momentum continue."
The letter was co-signed by Acopian Center for the Environment, Armenian
American Health Professionals Organization, Armenian American Medical
Association, Armenian American Nurses Association, Armenian American
Pharmacists Association, Armenian Bar Association, Armenian International
Dental Association, Armenian Medical International Committee, Axis of
Justice (Serj Tankian), Civic Forum, haikProject, and World Wide Fund for
Nature, Armenia.
The Armenian Environmental Network's (AEN) mission is to increase
information and engagement among Armenians, in Armenia and in the Diaspora,
and the wider conservation community about environmental issues in Armenia,
while facilitating environmentally sustainable development in Armenia
through responsible partnerships of Diasporan and international resources.
Please visit the website www.armenia-environment.org.
ATP's mission is to assist the Armenian people in using trees to improve
their standard of living and protect the environment, guided by the desire
to promote self-sufficiency, aid those with the fewest resources first, and
conserve the indigenous ecosystem. ATP's three major programs are tree
planting, environmental education, and sustainable development initiatives.
For more information, please visit the website www.armeniatree.org.