On March 21, 2022, EcoLur Press Club hosted a meeting of Armenian civil society representatives with Marianna Bolshakova, Regional Coordinator, Environmental Law and Governance, UNEP, UNECE
The meeting was attended by Inga Zarafyan - President of EcoLur Informational NGO, Kristina Ter-Matevosyan, the journalist of the same NGO, Nazeli Vardanyan - Director of Forests of Armenia NGO, Tehmine Yenoqyan - President of Green Armenia NGO, and Dalma Sona Foundation NGO President Ruzanna Ghazaryan, Center for Community Consolidation and Support NGO President Oleg Dulgaryan, Armenia Environmental Front Initiative member, geographer Leon Galstyan. The meeting was also attended online by Shushan Doydoyan, President of Freedom of Information Center, and Gerasim Musheghyan, a Jermuk resident.
The UN Economic Commission for Europe is currently reviewing environmental performance in Armenia, which looks at the effectiveness of state environmental management.
Marianna Bolshakova noted, "I deal with the issues of public participation, access to information, access to information on justice, the implementation of the Aarhus Convention in practice and in the legislation of Armenia. We are interested in what you have encountered as NGOs working in this field, what is the attitude towards environmental NGOs, is there pressure from the private or public sector, how is justice accessibility?”
The participants of the meeting presented the current situation in the environmental sphere in Armenia, mentioned clear examples of problems related to Amulsar gold mining project, problems of occupation and destruction of Dalma Gardens, the decision of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee addressed to the Government of Armenia, government-civil society relations. Participants also cited specific examples of pressure on active members of civil society.
March 24, 2022 at 13:39