FOREST COPPER MINE TRIGGERS CONTROVERSY IN ARMENIA
Jeremy Hance
Mongabay.com
0129-hance_armenia.html
Jan 28 2008
In Northern Armenia, a company has been given the go-ahead to establish
a copper mine in Teghut Forest sparking off a struggle between industry
and environmentalists. Teghut Forest spans approximately 29,000 square
kilometers-the size of the English channel-and supports a large number
of Armenia’s native species, including the Syrian Brown Bear and the
Short-toed Eagle. The mine will be operated by Armenian Copper Program
(ACP). ACP is apart of the Valex group, located in Liechtenstein and
co-owned by Russian citizen, Valeri Medzhloumyan. The project will
be the largest mine in Armenia, and is estimated to make a hundred
million annually for as long as the mining lasts (most likely, less
than twenty-five years).
Environmentalists believe that the mine will cause large and lasting
damage to the region, while government and industry state that the
mine’s environmental impact will be small while giving the region an
economic boost.
Alaverdi’s smelter and smokestack. Photo by Hrair "Hawk" Khatcherian
The first environmental impact from the copper mine will be
deforestation. The government has given ACP 1,570 hectares for the
project and the company has stated that it will be necessary to
clear cut 357 hectares for the mine. It will be an open pit mine,
meaning that in place of these 357 hectares will eventually be a
massive gaping hole. Gagik Arzumanyan, the executive director of ACP,
said in an interview with Mongabay, "I personally do regret that
this shall happen. I very much wish there would have been a way to
avoid forest removal. Unfortunately, there is none." At 357 hectares
the deforestation would be the largest officially permitted by the
Armenian government, yet environmentalists believe the actual number
of hectares required for the mine will be far more. Anne Shirin, the
English language coordinator for the Greens Union of Armenia, states
that "typically, the mining company, ACP, claims that only a small
part of the Teghut forest will be destroyed and the rest preserved,
yet company projections for the amount of metal ore that will be
mined in the coming 10 to 20 years proves just the opposite-most of
the forest will be destroyed". The executive director of the Armenia
Tree Project, Jeff Masarjian, adds that some environmentalists "expect
that up to 600 hectares will be deforested, including areas cut down
for building roads onto the mountain. The numbers claimed by company
officials and other stakeholders vary widely. It is to be expected
that the company would understate the potential for environmental
damage, while others might overestimate it, as the typical tension
between best case and worst case scenarios."
Deforestation is a large issue in Armenia; in fifteen years,
from 1990-2005, Armenia lost 18.2% of its forest. This has been
mostly due to illegal logging for fuel or construction materials,
although industry has also played a role. To many the situation is
dire, a recent UN study reported that 82% of Armenia is at risk
of desertification due to the loss of green areas. The Armenian
Tree Projects predicts that at current levels of deforestation, the
entirety of Armenia will become a desert in 50 years. A letter from
ACP responding to NGOs criticisms, including Armenia Tree Project,
states that these NGOs should spend their time fighting illegal logging
instead of the Teghut mine: "If we assume that the figures [the NGOs]
research has identified are pretty much close to reality (i.e. illegal
logging in Armenia reaches 1 mln cubic meters, or 8,000 hectares, each
single year), then logging related with Teghout project would be about
0.2% of illegal logging." In an article from the Environmental News
Service, Srbuhi Harutyunyan, president of Socio-Ecological Society
responded by saying, "after the mining is done, we would have a pit
in northern Armenia around 400-500 meters deep, and the territory
would be considered one of increasing degradation. What does this
have to do with illegal logging?"
Advertisement for Valex Cooperation (owner of ACP) in Alaverdi cityk.
Photo by Hrair "Hawk" Khatcherian
As Srbuhi Harutyunyan suggests deforestation is not the only concern
environmentalists have regarding ACP’s plan to mine. An even greater
worry is the possibility of soil and water contamination. In copper
mining toxic chemicals are employed to separate the ore and the
remains of the chemicals (called tailings) are discarded. At Teghut
the tailings will be dumped into a nearby gorge. Environmentalists
believe there is a good possibility that the toxins will eventually
seep into nearby rivers, including the Dbed river, which flows into
the adjacent nations of Georgia and Azerbaijan. "The local water
resources will be polluted to the extent of rendering them useless,"
Anne Shirin says. The letter released by ACP states that "the way
the tailing dump is designed/structured, it excludes possibility
of any ground water contamination. […] There is no source water
that is going to be affected by the proposed operations. Any impact
on the water supply (both drinking and irrigation) of the nearby
communities would be only positive." Gagik Arzumanyan stated that
these conclusions were confirmed by the Ministry of Health adding
"of course, one can always argue about guarantees that the project
would be implemented the way it is designed. In this respect we
have accepted the proposal of environmental NGOs to form a monitoring
group, comprised of representatives of not only such NGOs, but also the
Government and nearby villages in order to periodically review project
status." Jeff Masarjian is doubtful despite the company’s assurances:
"One only needs to observe other tailing dumps in Armenia to realize
that environmental regulations regarding water quality and prevention
of contamination are simply not enforced by the government. The dump
in the village of Aghtala, which is not managed by ACP, but rather
another company, is a prime example of how laws are not enforced. ACP
took a group of observers, including 2 ATP staff to their copper mine
in the southern town of Drembon, which they touted as a shining example
of their environmental ethic. Our staff observed a tailing dump there
that was completely accessible to wandering cattle and children."
Villagers from Teghut, courtesy of WWF Armenia
ACP’s record on managing pollution hardly helps its case. ACP runs
Armenia’s Alavaredi smelter. The smelter was built during the soviet
era, but closed in 1989 due to the soviet collapse. It started up
again in 1996. According to an article on EurasiaNet, in 2006-7 the
smelter released twenty times the sulfuric anhydride permitted by
the government, and in 2006 it emitted 12 tons of arsenic, nearly
105 tons of dust, 41 tons of zinc, nearly 3 tons of lead, and 3 tons
of copper. The smelter currently operates without filters; ACP has
stated that it is too expensive to purchase filters in relation to the
smelter’s output. While no direct link has been established, the town
of Alavaredi has seen increases of respiratory illnesses and birth
defects: in two years respiratory illnesses have nearly tripled and
birth defects have quadrupled, including anencephalia (where portions
of the brain are missing or small), hydrocephalus (excessive water in
the brain), and dicephalus (a fetus with two heads). Jeff Masarjian
states that "it is hard to trust the word of a corporation that has
a dismal environmental track record in the town of Alaverdi.
[…] The well documented damage to the health of the population of
Alaverdi is dismissed by the company as having no direct connection to
the toxins released from the smelter." ACP states that comprehensive
studies would be needed to prove the link between Alaverdi’s health
issues and the smelting plant. "Such a conclusion to be true requires,
to say the least, comparative analysis for all the regions in order
to identify factors behind changes in individual regions, something
that I assume not many people are willing to undertake, yet it
does not hold them from making simplistic conclusions," states the
letter from the ACP, "[…] No region in Armenia has escaped major
deterioration in health conditions due to reasons of malnutrition,
sharp decline in both living standards and quality of health care
(to name just a few)." While Gagik Arzumanyan calls the smelter plant
"environmentally troublesome, to say the least" he also says that "it
has nothing in common with Teghout project from environmental point
of view." ACP has been ordered to decrease the smelter’s emissions by
70% by 2009. The company has stated that if they are unable to reach
that goal, they would shut down the plant, since they would not have
the finances to pay the fine leveled by the government.
Hills of Teghut Forest, courtesy of the Greens Union of Armenia
The possible combination of deforestation and pollution has
environmental organizations further concerned about wildlife and
endangered species in Teghut. ACP’s own environmental assessment listed
21 species of fish, 86 birds, 55 mammals,10 reptiles, and 3 amphibians
present in the area. Almost half of the mammal and fish are listed
in the IUCN, including nine plant species. Gagik Arzumanyan says "we
feel a moral obligation to save not only the few species included in
the Red Book [IUCN], but as many of the others as possible. So we are
planning on moving all plants included in the Red Book (by the way,
no trees have been identified in the area to be included in the Red
Book, and just two bushes) to nearby locations which won’t be subject
to forest removal. We’d also be moving those trees that specialists
would consider reasonably transportable. As to animals, we can see
no major threat here since logging at Teghout would be taking place
at a rate so slow that shall not affect the survival of animals,
especially those few included in the Red Book."
Both Jeff Masarjian and Anne Shirin disagreed, stating that the mine
would essentially devastate species’ habitats.
Gorge in Teghut Forest where tailings from mine will be dumped. Photo
by Hrair "Hawk" Khatcherian
Despite these environmental concerns, the towns near the planned mine
have generally shown support for ACP. Both the villages of Teghut
and Shnough contain high rates of emigration and unemployment,
and the mine would bring needed jobs. However, these jobs will be
short-term about 15-25 years, according to both Trees for Armenia
and the Greens Union of Armenia. Anne Shirin stated that in return
the villagers will "lose their agricultural lands, their homes and
eventually have to move out of the area because of the pollution (as
has happened in several parts of Armenia because of mining-depopulation
and desertification)." She also believes that villagers’ acceptance
of the project has been exaggerated and states that "there is a rumor
that the village chiefs have been bribed by ACP."
The government has argued that the mine is necessary for economic
growth. Armenia has had difficulty revitalizing its economy ever
since the Soviet collapse. A massive earthquake in 1988 devastated
the country and the economy, and continuing difficulties with its
neighbors Azerbaijan and Turkey have left the economy struggling. In
2004, 34.6% of the population lived below the poverty line. Industry
is Armenia’s largest sector, bringing in 42% of Armenia’s GDP in
2006. Gagik Arzumanyan states that mining is the largest industry
in Armenia and "Teghut is the largest mining […] project in the
independent Armenia, which would make a major contribution to the
economic development of Armenia (we’ve estimated it to be at least
1% of GDP growth annually at pretty conservative price assumptions),
multiplying copper production in Armenia and increasing substantially
molybdenum output. There are numerous other benefits of the project
as well, including general boost to the economy of the region to
supply this major operation, significant increase in fiscal revenue,
etc." It has been estimated that the mine will bring in one hundred
million dollars annually for the years which it will be running.
However, many doubt that the mine’s profits will stay in Armenia,
since ACP is foreign owned. Jeff Masarjian says that "there is no
way to assure that those benefits will come back to the Armenian
people, who will have permanently given up their natural resources
and environmental treasures. The profits will be privatized and the
liabilities will be socialized for future generations." He adds that
other nations have viewed the mine as troublesome: "the European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development reneged on its plans to give ACP a
$250 million loan for this project, due to environmental issues. The
Russian bank that finally agreed to provide the loan is well known
for funding projects in Africa that disregard concerns for their
environmental impact."
Development beginning in Teghut. Photo by Hrair "Hawk" Khatcherian
Those who are against the Teghut mine believe that there are other
options to gain revenue from an undamaged Teghut forest. Many
environmentalists have brought up that the region could be used
for ecotourism, this includes Masarjian, who adds that ecotourism
would not only preserve the forest but also "distribute income more
broadly throughout the local population." Dr. Karen Manvelyan of World
Wildlife Fund Armenia says that "it was suggestion of WWF instead of
reforestation to establish a Protected Area near Teghut to conserve
remaining high conservation value forests as the only solution to
compensate destruction of nature by the mining. The same suggestion
was done during Parliamentary hearings, but we are not sure that the
company and other stakeholders will take it into account." Currently
10% of Armenia’s total land is under varying levels of protection.
Two protest campaigns have taken place in the last year against ACP.
In total over five thousand letters have been sent to the Armenian
President, Prime Minister, Minister of Environmental Protection,
Head of Parliament, Foreign Minister and its Embassy. Yet the project
continued unabated, and no response to the protest letters has been
issued from any of these governmental heads. Like many nations Armenia
is struggling over what is more important: short-term economic gain
or long-term environmental preservation. While the mine will bring
short-term jobs and an economic boost, it will also affect the Teghut
region for centuries to come. No one knows how long it takes for an
open-pit mine to lose its dead-zone status, because no open-pit mine
has yet done so. With this issue comes the fact that no none can truly
know what the mine’s affect will be, only estimations and projections
are possible. Environmentalists and activists are fighting an uphill
battle since the government has already given the mine the go-ahead
and appears unlikely to change its position.
Teghut Forest, courtesy of WWF Armenia
Gagik Arzumanyan, who is not just executive director of ACP but also
an avid photographer, including nature photography, addresses the
overall issue this way: "As with any project, if the benefits exceed
costs associated with that project, then the project shall proceed.
So the point is to make sure that both benefits and costs (including
potential externalities which may not be subject to precise
assessment) of a project are properly identified and assessed. This
is, I believe, a viewpoint shared more or less by everybody, since
even those opposing Teghout mining project do accept that mining
in general is not something that shall be opposed, but there are
just conditions to be met for a mining project to be considered
acceptable. […] We’ve attempted to apply the strictest available
regulations (even if they are not applicable to this very project) in
order to assess environmental (and all other costs) of the project,
while we have been pretty conservative in estimates of the economic
and social benefits. The result is that the benefits surpass the
costs by a factor of about 700." Masarjian sees it very differently:
"It is easy to calculate the amount and value of potential ore and
profit from the project, but much more difficult to put a financial
value on the flora, fauna, and landscape that will be permanently
destroyed and removed from the use by future generations of Armenians."
Both men however agree that perhaps the best way forward would be
an independent investigation of the Teghut mine. Arzumanyan ends his
company’s letter to protesters by saying: "Biased information, as I
am sure you perfectly know, can never be good basis for action. Since
the information we provide may also be considered biased, it shall
be the job of those considering action for the good of Armenia (be
that NGOs, Government, or any other entity or person) to identify
the truth based on the views of all interested parties, with maximum
possible information. Without caring for the benefit of a second
opinion, we are heading towards guaranteed loss." Masarjian agreed
with this statement and added what he would like to see happen next:
"I feel that an outside, neutral firm that has expertise in evaluating
mining projects and their environmental impacts should be hired by
the government of Armenia, which is charged with protecting the health
of the land and people, so that truly accurate information regarding
benefits and risks can be developed."
Work on the mine has already begun with clear-cutting of some areas of
Teghut Forest and building and paving roads. If a neutral investigation
were to be held, it would have to happen soon.
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