Georgia is also concerned
Twenty-six Armenian and five Georgian non-governmental organizations are calling on the Armenian authorities to suspend the Teghut mine exploitation project until the reevaluation of damages to be caused to the environment.
We present the declaration in its entirety:
"In November 2007, the Government of the Republic of Armenia confirmed the Teghut copper-molybdenum mine exploitation project. Teghut is located in northeastern Armenia at the basin of the Debed River, which is a vulnerable area in terms of earthquakes and landslides.
The area provided for mine exploitation is 1,491 hectares of which 82% is covered with forests. The mine exploitation will bring forth nearly 500 million tons of tail dumping of dangerous substances and 600 million tons of other wastes. The tail dumping will be installed in the Dukanadzor River dam, which flows into Shnogh River (the stream of Debed River).
Taking into account that
-the mine exploitation may lead to the loss of hundreds of hectares of mountainous forests, the drying of water resources and the elimination of land erosion and integrative eco-systems, including plants and animals on the verge of extermination,
-the tail dumping containing the combinations of silver, rհenium, lead, arsenic, copper, molybdenum, zinc and sulfur and other chemical substances due to natural disasters or accidents in industry will poison the Shnogh River and the fields irrigated by its streams and cause a threat to food security and people's health,
Establishing that
-the evaluation of the impact on the environment prepared by the mine extraction company was developed only for the first 8 years of the project without taking into account the effects of the 50-year period, as well as the emergency situations and risks in the context of the cross-border,
-the positive conclusion of the environmental expert examination provided by the RA Ministry of Nature Protection didn't take into account the wrong calculations of the evaluation of the impact on the environment and the wrong evaluation of damages to be caused to eco-systems,
-the processes of adopting decisions in relation to the Teghut mine exploitation were not adequate in terms of notifying the public on time and ensuring its participation in accordance with Armenia's obligations taken on within the framework of the UN European Economic Commission's Convention "On public participation and appropriateness of fairness in the processes of providing appropriate information and adopting decisions related to environmental issues" (Aarhus),
-the Government of the Republic of Armenia did not take any step toward identifying the risks and starting consultations with the Georgian authorities and the society to carry out its obligations within the framework of the Espu Convention "On the impact on the environment in the context of the cross-border",
-the Georgian government didn't recognize the possibility of risks and failed not only to ratify the Espu Convention of the UN European Economic Commission, but also showed an irresponsible line of conduct and didn't complete adequate surveys to proceed with the alarms sounded by the concerned society,
Concerned that
-the region may face an ecological disaster due to the irresponsible approach of both countries' authorities and the Republic of Armenia, as a country with a rich source of disasters, will be obliged to not only eliminate the damages caused to the country, but also compensate for the damages caused to neighboring countries,
We the undersigned non-governmental organizations and individuals of the Republic of Armenia and Georgia deem it necessary for
The authorities of the Republic of Armenia
-to suspend the Teghut mine exploitation project until the reevaluation of damages to be caused to the environment,
-to organize an impartial and comprehensive evaluation of the impact on the environment in accordance with the best international experience,
-to start consultations with the Georgian authorities and the society on the possible impact on the border as a result of the Teghut mine exploitation
The Georgian authorities
-to ratify the Espu Convention
-to participate in the consultations initiated by the Armenian authorities to identify the potential impact on the environment in the context of borders"
