MINING IN ARMENIA CREATES POVERTY, SAYS STUDY
Tuesday, April 16th, 2013
Mine workers at the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum processing plant in
Kajaran handling toxic heavy metals without breathing protection.
(Photo by Nazik Armenakyan)
YEREVAN-Mining contributed to economic growth in Armenia between
2004-2010 while simultaneously creating income inequality and poverty.
This is according to a recent study by the American University of
Armenia’s Acopian Center for the Environment conducted in cooperation
with the AUA College of Business and Economics.
Mining contributed to economic growth in Armenia between 2004-2010
while also creating income inequality and poverty, according to a
recent economic study of that six-year period by the AUA Acopian
Center for the Environment conducted in cooperation with the AUA
College of Business and Economics.
The study’s principal researcher and author, Dr. Aleksandr Grigoryan,
looks at regional-level data and reports that mining does have some
positive impact on the growth of the economy.
Cow drinking water from tailing ponds from the Zangezur
Copper-Molybdenum mine in Kajaran. (Photo by Nazik Armenakyan)
“This supports the claim often repeated by proponents of mining that
it is needed for Armenia’s economic growth,” said Dr. Grigoryan,
an assistant professor of economics at AUA.
Mining and Poverty Dr. Grigoryan’s analysis, however, also shows
that mining contributes to higher poverty and greater income
inequality. “Our analysis shows that the mining sector is likely
to increase income inequality and deepen poverty in the regions of
Armenia in which it operates,” stated Grigoryan.
This runs counter to claims by mining proponents that the sector
creates jobs that will have medium- to long-term development impact
on the regions and the country.
These conflicting realities can be explained by a number of factors
prevalent in Armenia’s economy, according to Grigoryan.
“Mining has been growing as a share of the Armenian economy for several
years now but with the economic crisis and increase in world metal
prices, mining took on a more significant role in our GDP growth,”
he explained, noting that this trend is expected to continue if no
other sector of the economy picks up steam.
Mining and Income Inequality An increase in poverty is another observed
effect of mining, a relationship that Dr. Grigoryan says needs to be
studied further.
Other research on the impact of mining conducted by the AUA School of
Public Health and AUA Acopian Center reports some residents claiming
that property owners are forced to sell their properties at very low
prices. Such occurrences, if they have taken place, would deprive
villagers of an asset critical to wealth creation, according to Dr.
Grigoryan.
Moreover, workers in the mining or mineral processing industries are
not provided health insurance, a fact that may burden families with
health costs or lower productivity.
The Role of Policy “If we are to make mining a key sector in the
Armenian economy, we also have to develop the right socio-economic
policies where the immediate communities and the country benefits
maximally,” said Alen Amirkhanian, director of the AUA Acopian Center.
Mining and extractive industries have played a significant role
in ensuring long-term and equitable growth for several countries,
particularly Norway, Australia, and Botswana. “These countries have
successfully used mining to raise the standard of living for a vast
majority of their populations because they devised and implemented good
public policy,” stressed Amirkhanian, who organized an international
conference last November on the topic.
Without proper policies designed to regulate and leverage mining,
Armenia will continue on a path that follows mining models that enrich
a few while depriving larger numbers of current and future generations
of opportunities to benefit from their patrimony, added Amirkhanian.
According to the Armenian Statistical Service, in 2011, Armenia’s
mining industry employed 15,500 workers or about one percent of the
country’s total employment and contributed to about 3 percent of the
its GDP.
AUA is organizing another international scientific conference on
“Emerging Issues in Environmental and Occupational Health.” The
conference, set for April 22-23, will bring leading experts from around
the world to Yerevan to explore the impact of mining and construction
in transition economies such as Armenia. The research they present
will provide solutions to the occupational and environmental health
problems facing workers, communities and children and help craft
public policy to address these issues.
The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment (AUA ACE) is a research
center of the American University of Armenia (AUA). AUA ACE promotes
the protection and restoration of the natural environment through
research, education, and community outreach. AUA ACE’s focus areas
include sustainable natural resource management, biodiversity and
conservation, greening the built environment, clean energy and energy
efficiency, as well as information technology and the environment.
The College of Business and Economics (CBE) at the American University
of Armenia (AUA) is the leading business school in the region,
promoting entrepreneurship, innovation and ethical leadership. CBE
has catered to Armenian and international students, corporations,
and communities for the past 20 years.