Ecolur NGO chairwoman summarizes 2013 results

Chairwoman of Ecolur NGO Inga Zarafian summarized today the results of the 2013 environmental year. In her words, some rights of Nature Protection Ministry responsible for the sphere are occasionally taken away and the ministry is sometimes not involved in solution of environmental problems.

104 projects, half of which – 52 projects had to do with mining or related facilities, were submitted for ecological examination in 2013, with only 4 projects rejected, the NGO chairwoman said.

23 projects on small hydropower plants were submitted, and despite the fact that the population was against the construction of some hydropower plants, all the projects were approved. “For several years in a row, no hydropower plant project has been rejected”, she said.

Inga Zarafian also discussed control mechanisms, stressing that quite often serious accidents occur, causing irrecoverable damage to the environment such the accident at Geghi Copper and Molybdenum Combine as well as the accidents at Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine in December and November 2013. During the latter accident the 35-km tailing dump was damaged and the waste was discharged in a gorge. In these and other cases, the environmental inspectorate either does not voice concern about the accident or very little compensation is paid.