On January 18, 2021, RA Minister of Environment, Romanos Petrosyan, sent a letter to international environmental organizations, drawing their attention to the serious consequences of the use of internationally banned toxic weapons by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh during the war.
The Azerbaijani aggression was not limited to Artsakh, but spread to the territory of the Republic of Armenia as well. Thus, currently, Armenia is facing serious environmental dangers, particularly:
• Loss of forested areas, forest degradation and increased risk of forest fires. The fires intentionally damaged "Artsvaberd" and "Syunik" forests.
• Loss or disruption of water, sanitation, waste infrastructure and tailings, etc.
• Physical damage to landscapes, geodiversity and biodiversity.
• A huge volume of ruins and debris that can cause air and soil pollution, etc.
RA Ministry of Environment and Minister Romanos Petrosyan personally called on the international community to be actively involved, to assist in the detailed assessment of the environmental damage in Armenia and to alleviate the critical situation in the border area.
The letter was sent to:
• The UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia,
• The General Secretary of the Ramsar Convention,
• The Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),
• The General Secretary of the Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Wildlife Species and the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA),
• The Executive Secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS),
• The General Secretary of the Berne Convention,
• The Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP),
• The General Director of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
• Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Commissioner Responsible for the European Green Deal,
• The Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries.
Source: RA Ministry of Environment’s Facebook page.
27 January, 2021The Mining Legislation Reform Institute (MLRI) is a registered Armenian NGO. It seeks to ensure that mining in Armenia provides sufficient benefits to the country and local communities. Its main activities include research, stakeholder consultation, policy development, public education, communications, advocacy, and legislative reform.
The MLRI was previously based at the American University of Armenia’s Center for Responsible Mining. The activities of the MLRI are made possible by funding from the Tufenkian Foundation.
