ZANGILAN, Azerbaijan, June 25. Azerbaijan's Zangilan has hosted the "Environmental consequences of Armenia’s mining industry" panel discussion on the second day of the Forum for Cooperation among Azerbaijani NGOs, Trend reports.
The discussions were attended by about 200 representatives of various NGOs.
Ayaz Mirzayev, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Journalists' Network Public Union, served as moderator of the panel discussions.
Amin Mammadov, Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, stated in his speech that Armenia's mining industry causes significant environmental damage, for which the country has been repeatedly warned.
He highlighted that, despite Armenia's relatively scarce natural resources, its contribution to the region's environmental degradation is substantial.
"There are already some changes happening within Armenia. They are beginning to recognize the environmental harm caused by their mining industry. We hope that Armenian NGOs will adopt a positive attitude towards cooperation on this issue," he emphasized.
Sabit Bagirov, Chairman of the Entrepreneurship and Market Economy Assistance Foundation, stated that Armenia's mining industry lacks transparency and accountability.
"A total of 26 companies operate in the mining sector, yet there is almost no information available about them. The website of Armenia's statistical institution is inaccessible. Either the data is not disclosed or deliberately hidden, or access from Azerbaijan has been blocked. As a result, obtaining this information has been impossible," he said.
Chairman of the Public Association of Cartographers of Azerbaijan, Mugabil Bayramov, discussed the newly prepared map of Armenia's mining industry.
He emphasized that the map, available in three languages, including Armenian, aims to encourage Armenian NGOs to join in addressing the environmental consequences.
Bayramov added that the map is undergoing improvements and that the data will be presented again in a more precise and expanded form.
Aziz Gasimov, Chairman of the Student Youth Organization of Nakhchivan State University, spoke about the environmental damage expected from the metallurgical plant Armenia is building in Arazdeyan. He noted that 23,000 residents of Sadarak district in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic are at risk from the plant's emissions and air pollution.
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