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NGOs, experts and environmentalists controlled by the Azerbaijani government, especially over the past two or three years, have been continuously speaking out about the “serious environmental damages” by Armenia’s mining industry.
Recently, during the discussion on “Environmental Consequences of Armenia’s Mining Industry” at the Cooperation Forum of Azerbaijani NGOs in Zangilan (Kovsakan), Amin Mamedov, the Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, stated that “Armenia’s mining industry causes serious damage to the environment” in connection with which multiple warnings have been made. He also noticed that although Armenia’s natural resources are rather scarce, its share in environmental consequences in the region is large.
Fact Investigation Platform tried to reveal whether Armenia’s mining industry really has such an adverse impact on the environment of Azerbaijan, as stated in that country, and what environmental problems Azerbaijan, which displays such sensitivity to this issue, is facing.
The Azerbaijani campaign against the mining organizations operating in Armenia seems to have started after the launch of the construction of the metallurgical plant in Yeraskh. First, the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Azerbaijan declared that this project is a blow to the environmental security of the region.
“We strongly condemn the actions of Armenia, which undermine the environmental security of the region and contradict the norms of international law, we call on the international community to pay special attention to this issue,” the message reads.
Later, a few days following this announcement, the Azerbaijani side opened fire at the construction site of the plant. Later, a decision was made to build the Yeraskh metallurgical plant in another location, in Ararat village of Ararat region.
The Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia, in response to the Azerbaijani complaints, stated that the plant will be built in accordance with all environmental standards and requirements, within the framework of national legislation.
“Azerbaijan’s statement regarding the negative transboundary impact on the environment as a result of the operation of the plant is groundless and does not reflect the reality in any way. The only real purpose of these environmental false alarms is to hinder the economic development of the Republic of Armenia,” the Ministry’s statement reads.
The Ministry of Environment later addressed the statements from Azerbaijan again.
On July 7, 2023, 24 Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations addressed RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan with an open letter, calling to stop the activities of mining companies operating in different regions of the Republic of Armenia, which, according to them, do not meet international environmental standards.
RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at the July 13 government session, with reference to the demand of Azerbaijani NGOs, that Azerbaijan ascribes mines to Armenia that simply do not exist, and raises circumstances that are fictitious.
The RA Prime Minister also shared an indicator. In the 2022 report of the US Yale University on the environmental status of states, Armenia ranks 56th among 180 countries, while Azerbaijan ranks 104th.
In response to the statement of Azerbaijani “environmentalists,” Armenian non-governmental organizations also made an open statement, claiming that the statements of Azerbaijani NGOs are part of the aggressive policy of the Azerbaijani government, executing the order of the authoritarian state regime, joining the military and informational aggression against Armenia and trying to intimidate the population of Armenia.
The Armenian Union of Miners and Metallurgists also addressed the open letter of Azerbaijani NGOs, declaring: “It suffices to note that the authors of the letter not only do not posses any professional knowledge, but also do not know the geography of the region, regularly mentioning some toponyms that simply do not exist in Armenia, for example, Gafan, Geycha, etc.” The RA Ministry of Environment also issued a statement.
In addition, the President of “EcoLur” NGO, environmentalist Inga Zarafyan, speaking about the open letter issued by the so-called “civil society organizations” of Azerbaijan, described it as yet another environmental manipulation by Azerbaijan. “I view the statements of their environmentalists from the political perspective, which has nothing to do with environmental protection. There is an initiative for the transparency of the extractive industries, which is a serious international process, and Armenia is also a member of it, while Azerbaijan stopped its membership to avoid monitoring in their country,” Zarafyan said.
It should be noted that Azerbaijan kept Artsakh under blockade for 10 months on the grounds of false environmental theses and ultimately organized an armed attack subjecting Artsakh Armenians to ethnic cleansing. The blockade also caused a lot of damage to nature: in particular, Artsakh, being deprived of electricity supplied from Armenia, had to produce electricity on its own through hydropower plants, which led to the depletion of the Sarsang reservoir.
On April 12, 2024, during the first procedural session of the arbitration proceedings between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the basis of the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, the Representative of the Republic of Armenia on International Legal Matters, stated that the military aggression of Azerbaijan in recent years has led to serious environmental problems in the region.
“Azerbaijan seems to be committed to its cynical strategy of using so-called “environmental concerns” as a tool for political purposes. In recent years, Azerbaijan’s military aggression has led to serious environmental problems in the region, destroying forests, polluting land and water resources, including depleting the resources of the Sarsang Reservoir. The flora and fauna of Nagorno-Karabakh are also jeopardized by Azerbaijan’s incessant demolition and construction works aimed at preventing the return of ethnic Armenians to their homeland,” Kirakosyan emphasized.
Armenia’s mining sector
The mining sector is mainly regulated by the Subsoil Code of the Republic of Armenia (2011) and legal acts stemming therefrom.
In March, 2017 the Republic of Armenia received the status of a candidate country for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which laid the ground for further improvement of transparency and accountability of the sector, as well as other components of responsible mining culture.
In April, 2024, based on the conclusion of the second ratification of Armenia, the International Council of the EITI awarded Armenia a high score in observing the 2019 EITI Standard (89.5 points).
In 2023, at the May 11 government session, the strategy for the development of the mining sector and the action plan to ensure its implementation until 2035 was approved. The strategy sets out 3 goals: creation and management of a unified digital information database of geology; effective decision-making in the field of subsoil use and protection; application of international standards and approaches in the mining sector.
Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan noted that the mining sector has never had a strategy and its existence is paramount. “Thereby, the short-, medium- and long-term directions of the development of the mining industry in RA are outlined, the mechanisms for the regulation and development of the sector, the rational and complex use of the subsoil, the management and mitigation of environmental and health risks, and the proportional/fair distribution of revenues are defined.”
During the same session, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also stated: “The mining industry must manage environmental risks as efficiently as possible. Moreover, not only risks arising during operation, but also after, in particular, the process of recultivation, i.e. closure of mines, further return of these areas to civilian use, and so on.”
Armenian environmentalists have repeatedly stated that currently the mining sector is problematic all over the world, and realizing the global risks of climate change and sustainable development, the civil society in Armenia makes every effort to reduce them, speaks up about specific issues, negotiates with the government and business entities within the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Besides, Armenian environmentalists are trying to achieve legislative changes on certain aspects which can be aimed at reducing risks and protecting social and environmental rights.
Environmental problems of Azerbaijan
However, in Azerbaijan, the civil society is being persecuted and exposed to violence in case of speaking up about problems. And the environmental problems in that country are numerous, ranging from the pollution of the atmosphere and water resources to the problems caused by the oil industry.
Azerbaijan plays a key role in polluting the Caspian Sea with petroleum hydrocarbons, which is primarily a consequence of oil and gas extraction and processing. The area of 21.3 thousand hectares of the Apsheron peninsula on the western coast of the Caspian Sea is heavily polluted with oil and oil products as a result of disastrous economic activity, which cannot fail to pose a threat to other countries of the Caspian Sea basin: Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan.
The second major environmental problem is due to the pollution of the atmosphere, as well as water resources, which is related to the intense activity of oil refineries. This leads not only to the emission of large amounts of methane into the atmosphere, which is one of the strongest greenhouse gases known to us today, but also of carbon dioxide, which is the most dangerous due to its emission volumes.
Residents of the villages of Mirgurbanli and Yeni Gishlag in the Neftchala region of Azerbaijan complain about radioactive iodine emissions, which are the wastes of the Neftchala iodine and bromine plant owned by “Azer Yod” LLC. The press addressed the alarming reports, stating in an article that the complaints do not reflect the reality, and made reference only to the company’s employees.
Azerbaijan is home to one of the largest oil and gas production terminals, the Sangachal terminal. Residents living near the terminal have heart failure and respiratory problems associated with living near the terminal.
In 2023, the residents of the village of Soyudlu in Gedabek region of Azerbaijan expressed their opposition to the construction of the second tailing dump, noting that the first tailing dump is already harming their health. One of the gold mines of the British Anglo Asian Mining company is located in the vicinity of the settlement.
It should be noted that in 2017 Azerbaijan’s membership in the Initiative for the Transparency of Extractive Industries was stopped for violating the principles of the initiative.
Thus, Azerbaijan is trying to disguise its own environmental problems and its crimes against environment by making statements about Armenia’s environmental problems.
Syuzanna Hambardzumyan
