BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 16. A briefing has been held in Baku to address concerns about illegal mining industry operations in Armenia, toxifying the environment in Azerbaijan and the entire South Caucasus region, Trend reports.
Amin Mammadov, co-founder of the Environmental Protection First (EPF) coalition, spoke on the coalition's purpose and objectives during the briefing.
He highlighted that Armenia had been preparing to construct a large metallurgical plant in Arazdayan, near the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, which would have violated the 1991 Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, but following protests from Azerbaijan, the project was halted.
According to him, in 2023, Azerbaijan's Azercosmos space agency provided satellite images revealing the activities of over 20 mining enterprises located near the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.
"In early 2024, several NGOs in Armenia protested against their government's decision to exploit new deposits at the Amulsar site, located on our historical land. The EPF coalition also expressed solidarity with the Armenian NGOs opposing the exploitation of the site. Therefore, these NGOs in Armenia were accused of spying for Azerbaijan," he said.
Sabir Bagirov, another co-founder of EPF, emphasized that 12 of Armenia’s 26 mining companies operate in Western Zangezur, which poses environmental risks.
According to him, it is essential for Armenia to ratify the UN Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. It is clear that after the signing of a peace agreement, the Azerbaijani government will insist on Armenia joining the mentioned Convention and establishing a joint structure for implementing Article 9 of this Convention.
"It is essential for civil society organizations in Azerbaijan to continue their efforts to establish constructive cooperation with civil society organizations in Armenia for joint monitoring of the environmental situation in the newly agreed-upon area," he added.
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