The Interests of Gold-mining Entrepreneurs Expose to Danger Lake Sevan

On December 11 th 2008, at 11:00 a.m. in UN office in Armenia took place the presentation of the film entitled “A
Golden Mine for Sevan” and a Round table on the risks of gold mining for Sevan, where participated representatives from the Ministry of Nature Protection, National Academy of Sciences and the environmental NGOs.

The film was made in frame of campaign SOS Sevan by the informative NGO “Ecolur” and the NGO “Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment” (AWHHE) by the support of the international network “Women of Europe for a Common Future” (WECF).

In May 2008 it was cleared up that the GeoProMining Company, the owner of the Ararat gold-mining enterprise and the concession of the exploitation of gold mine of Sotk, has an intention to move the production from Ararat to Sotk. This is not a new idea. In 2005 such an attempt was made by the previous proprietor “Vedanta Resources”, an Indian organization, but the project was refused.

In June the NGOs “Ecolur” and AWHHE gave the alarm SOS Sevan which was spread through www.ecolur.org network. The call was heard and spread through several international networks, such as WECF that comprises more than 100 organizations from 30 countries; IPEN that includes about 400 organizations; as well as through NGO Forum on ADB. Also were received responses and support letters from the Bank Watch Network and UNEP.

The film is about the threat posed by the interests of gold mining entrepreneurs to Sevan that is considered to be the strategic priority of Armenia . The cyanic technologies and chemical compounds that are used for the extraction of gold will make the risks for the lake increase for many times. It is especially dangerous when the wastes of a dumping-tail containing toxic metals and elements remain unchangeable for millions of years.

At present, the Company has restarted the work of the enterprise and of the mine, despite the previous statements of the company about the possible closure of the mine in case the enterprise is not moved to Sotk. Anyhow, the lake is still in danger.

For the purpose of moving the enterprise to Sotk the Company needs to develop a complete project including an assessment of exposure on the environment. This demands long time and appropriate costs. It is worth mentioning that the company has already started the financing of research in Sevan.

NGO Ecolur ( http://www.ecolur.org )

NGO AWHHE 

“SAICM – Global Commitment for Protection of Environment and Health” Workshop, August, 04, 2008

The NGO “Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment” with the financial support of Barbara Smith Fund organized a workshop on “SAICM – Global Commitment for Protection of Environment and Health” with participation of IPEN / International POPs Elimination Network/ representatives.

The workshop was aimed at introducing to the current global processes in the field of chemical security and working out a plan of activities of non-governmental organizations in the mentioned field.

Download:

Press releases	Presentations
“Ecolur” press release (Russian)	Olga Speranskaya – Presentation 1, Presentation 2
“Ecolur” press release (English)	Lilik Simonyan
Press release	Karine Yesayan
An NGO Guide to SAICM	Nune Oganesyan

Download GDA 2007 Press Release

The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives / Global Anti Incinerator Alliance (GAIA) would like to invite all GAIA members and other allied groups to join our 6th Global Day of Action against Waste and Incineration on 28th November 2007.

As the campaign to prevent climate change is gaining ground, there still an immense need to connect this environmental challenge to issues pertaining to waste. Since the climate change debate has also become entwined with the discussion on the energy generation and consumption, it is important that we uncover the truth behind generating energy from waste that is being pushed by incinerator and landfill industries as green and renewable. We see the 2007 GDA as an opportunity to raise our concerns on waste and climate change by organizing build-up activities preceding the UNFCCC (COP 13) on December 3 to 14, 2007 in Bali , Indonesia.

The working theme for the 2007 Global Day of Action against Waste and Incineration will be “Zero Waste, Zero Warming: Dirty Technologies Will Not Clean the World.” By “dirty technologies” – we mean landfills, dumpsites, incinerators of all types, cement kilns burning wastes. Studies show that waste prevention, reduction and recycling can result in big energy savings since the demand for raw materials extraction is reduced.

GDA 2007 will draw attention to the need for safe and sustainable alternatives to end- of- pipe waste management processes that will genuinely reduce generation of greenhouse gases, promote conservation of our diminishing resources and protect human health and the environment from further toxicity.