Civil society stakeholders met today to discuss the key issues facing the mining sector in Armenia. The impacts of mining on the environment, communities, the Armenian economy, and other such factors were discussed during the roundtable held at the American University of Armenia (AUA).

Mining Policy and Legislative Reform Manager, Varant Meguerditchian highlighted the importance of the event, stating: “We’ve kick-started a process to get mining sector reform back on the political agenda.

“We want to make sure that the benefits of mining to Armenia and its people outweigh the many negative impacts,” said Meguerditchian.

Representatives from civil society organizations had their say on issues such as waste management, land rehabilitation, water quality and much more during spirited discussions which lasted for more than two hours.

The roundtable was the first in a series of stakeholder events which will be run by the AUA CRM’s Mining Legislation Reform Initiative (MLRI) to develop a comprehensive responsible mining policy for Armenia.

Commenting on the high level of participation and the quality of the discussions, Meguerditchian said, “This transparent and inclusive process will lead us toward a better more sustainable mining sector.”

The MLRI will release further announcements regarding the mining policy development process online at the MLRI website www.mlri.crm.aua.am.