According to the draft strategy for the development of the mining sector, it is proposed to provide land to soil management companies in a simplified procedure after soil management permit is issued, as Victoria Burnazyan, Vice President of EcoLur Informational NGO, said at " Problematic Aspects of Mining Sector Development Strategy" discussion organized at Media Center on July 19, 2022.
The speakers of the discussion, Victoria Burnazyan, and Oleg Dulgaryan, President of "Center for Community Mobilization and Support" NGO, addressed a number of problematic points in the strategy for the development of Armenia's mining industry, which is currently being developed with the financing of the World Bank. Any representative from the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure was not present at the discussion.
Victoria Burnazyan mentioned that most of the proposals presented by the civil society were not accepted during the development of the strategy. "Not only EcoLur, but also a number of other non-governmental organizations have submitted a large package of proposals to the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, but a number of proposals have not been accepted. As for the problematic points, one of the points is that the developers propose to impose legal consequences on the communities if they fail the public hearings,” Victoria Burnazyan outlined. Under her, there is also a problem with holding public hearings.
"For us, the hearings are formal in nature. A small number of people participate in the hearings, mainly people brought by the company, employees, people who share their interests. Residents are either not aware or unable to protect their interests and rights. ", he mentioned.
Another problematic point, according to Victoria Burnazyan, is related to the land use right. "This proposal came from TAI, ToR mentioned that the consulting company should consider whether it is possible to give the land to the soil manager in a simplified procedure.
The consultant also mentioned a number of options on how it can be performed. Here, an attempt is made to provide the land to the company in a simplified procedure after the soil management permit is issued, nevertheless, it will violate a person's right to property, which is protected by the Constitution. We offered to remove this point," she said.
According to Victoria Burnazyan, after the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, it is recommended to issue water use, water drainage, and air pollution permits in a simplified manner. "But here we will have a problem with the specific water use permit, because the water is not only for mining, but there are different priorities for using that water.
Another controversial point is that the document states that the state should turn from an administrator into a supporter of the soil manager. We suggest that the administration should not be seen only negatively, because it is also a supervisory function, so that the company is aware that it will be held accountable for its mistake," she said.
According to Victoria Burnazyan, one of the fundamental gaps in the strategy is the lack of compensation insurance mechanism for communities.
According to Oleg Dulgaryan, the strategy document being developed does not reflect the problems of the communities. "When we read the document, it seems that it is one-sided, I have not seen a wording that would clearly express the interests of the community residents and propose a solution. This document is not a government-approach document. This is a one-sided document that expresses the point of view of the mining industry," he outlined.
Oleg Dulgaryan mentioned that several meetings were organized in the communities by the group developing this strategy. "They listened to the communities' opinions, problems, and concerns. But those meetings should have taken place in more communities, greater participation should have been ensured," he said.
Referring to the next steps, Victoria Burnazyan informed that they are going to apply to the World Bank so that the latter can check whether the document meets its standards. She also mentioned that they have applied to the Secretariat of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Armenia to convene a meeting of the Central Committee within the framework of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, where the government, mining business and civil society will be present to discuss this document.
Photo Credit: Media center
July 20, 2022 at 12:41