MINING ARMENIA'S TEGHUT FOREST - AN INEVITABILITY?

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 YEREVAN 001311 SIPDIS SIPDIS BUDAPEST FOR REGIONAL ESTH OFFICER E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2017 TAGS: AM ECON ENV SUBJECT: MINING ARMENIA'S TEGHUT FOREST - AN INEVITABILITY? Classified By: CDA JOSEPH PENNINGTON. REASON 1.4 (B/D) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The GOAM is set to approve a much-criticized clear-cutting and strip-mining operation in the Teghut Forest. Critics, decrying environmental damage, have asserted that the GOAM,s approval process fails to meet international commitments, and violates Armenian law. Suspicions of official corruption are rampant, and several NGOs have indicated that the GOAM has sought to silence opposition. There is a legitimate economic case, however, for exploiting the rich copper and molybdenum vein. End Summary. THE PROJECT -------------- ¶2. (C) In June 2006 the Armenian Copper Project (ACP),a Russian-owned mining company, announced that it had created a new company, Teghut, which would mine the deposit of copper and molybdenum in the Teghut Forest in Lori Marz. The new company already employs over 100 persons, mainly geologists and scientists, and has begun construction work on logging roads and other infrastructure to support the mining operation. ¶3. (U) The Teghut deposits are believed to be the second-largest in Armenia, following those in Kajaran, and are estimated to contain 1.6 million tons of copper and 99,000 tons of molybdenum. At current market prices ($3.65/pound for copper, $35/pound for molybdenum),the potential value of the metals extracted is nearly $20 billion. ¶4. (C) The project has received strong support from government officials. Former Minister of Nature Protection Vardan Ayvazyan said in August 2006 that the GOAM had made a strategic decision to support the mining project. Lori Marz Governor Henrik Kochinyan claimed that the project would create 1,500 new jobs and was quoted as saying "Let there be jobs, so people can work instead of starving to death. What does the forest give us?" ¶5. (C) In addition to the Ministry of Nature Projection, the project requires approvals from the ministries of Culture and Agriculture. After all agency approvals are made and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is accepted by a Ministry of Nature Protection board , the Prime Minister makes the final approval. So far, Agriculture has not yet given its approval. ACP Executive Director Gagik Arzumanyan told us that he expects all approvals to be completed within about two months. THE VIEW FROM ENVIRONMENTALISTS -------------- ¶6. (C) This project has aroused strong opposition from many environmental organizations active in Armenia. Potential impacts include not only the clear-cutting of dense forest, but the effective leveling of a mountain, the filling in of an adjoining valley with waste, and creation of tailing ponds containing heavy metals that may threaten groundwater and streams. In addition, this project will likely uproot two communities of several hundred persons - mostly subsistence farmers. They point to the devastated landscape around Kajaran as an example of what is likely to become of the Teghut Forest. While many critics concede the inevitability of the project, they hope to persuade the GOAM to demand maximum mitigation measures. IGNORING ITS OWN RULES -------------- ¶7. (C) Several NGOs have asserted that the GOAM's approval of this project would violate its own treaty commitments. These include the Convention on Biodiversity (Rio, 1992),the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (New York, 1992),the Convention on Combating Desertification (Paris, 1994),the Convention on Access to Information, Public participation in Decisionmaking and to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarchus, 1998),the Convention on Landslides (Florence, 2004) and the UNESCO Convention on Preservation of the Heritage of Art and Nature. They also claim this project violates Articles 10, 31 and 33.2 of the Armenian Constitution and several Armenian environmental laws. ACP STATES ITS CASE -------------- ¶8. (C) Gagik Arzumanyan, Executive Director of ACP, recently told us that strip mining is not only the cheapest way to extract the copper and molybdenum, but the only way. The ore is located 20 meters below the ground surface and extends YEREVAN 00001311 002 OF 003 down some 600 meters. If ACP employed underground mining there would be a 600-meter deep cavity just 20 meters below the surface. A cavity of this depth simply could not be supported. ¶9. (C) While acknowledging that strip mining is an inherently disruptive process, Arzumanyan tried to play down the project's environmental impact. He said that over the mine's lifetime (an estimated 35 years) approximately 375 hectares of forest will be clear-cut, with 25,000 cubic meters of wood removed. In the project's first phase - projected to last 12 years - 157 hectares will be cleared. Arzumanyan noted that these numbers pale in comparison to the 500,000 cubic meters of wood logged illegally each year in Armenia. To offset the loss of trees, he said that ACP will plant new trees in other areas and oversee their care. (Note: Illegal logging generally doesn't consist of clear-cutting, and logging of Teghut could open up a currently inaccessible area to illegal logging, resulting in an even greater loss of forest land. End Note). ¶10. (C) With regard to the displacement of local residents due to land acquisition for the mine and its operations, Arzumanyan indicated that ACP had already purchased most of the land required for the project and has fairly compensated land owners. He noted that there remain some holdouts (which he characterized as opportunists) who do not wish to sell their property - or who seek to sell it for many multiples of its market value. ACP is still trying to acquire this land through Armenia,s equivalent of "eminent domain." He said that his company has also purchased another plot of land nearby, with which to do land exchanges for persons who would like to remain in the area. He claims the land ACP is offering is better-suited to agricultural production. ¶11. (C) Arzumanyan asserted that the Teghut project is in compliance with both existing Armenian mining laws and international best practices. He claims that this is the most open and transparent mining operation in Armenia, that the mine will employ full water treatment and that tailing ponds will be dammed to ensure that they do not contaminate water sources. He noted that ACP has published and made available to the public all of its plans and environmental assessments. He further claims that ACP encourages open dialogue and has made itself accessible to environmental groups and experts who are re-assessing ACP's findings or conducting independent studies. ¶12. (C) Arzumanian insisted that Teghut is too large a mineral deposit to remain unexploited. He assured that the mine will provide numerous jobs (up to 1,700 during construction of the site, and about 1,450 during mining operations). As to the employment prospects for local residents, Arzumanyan claimed that in the case of ACP's Drambon mine (in Nagorno-Karabakh),everybody within 25 km of the mine who wanted a job was able to get one. SILENCING AND CO-OPTING THE OPPOSITION? -------------- ¶13. (C) Representatives of several environmental groups have told us that they or their organizations have been pressured by the GOAM to tone down their opposition to this project. This may be a response to a successful NGO campaign two years ago that led to the re-routing of a road through the environmentally-sensitive Shikaho Reserve, and supporters of the project within the GOAM may not wish to see the NGOs achieve a similar success with Teghut. ¶14. (C) Although not alleged to have done anything illegal, the Armenia Copper Project, according to project opponents, has been engaged in picking off members of the opposition by hiring them as contractors or consultants. ACP also purchased media outlets in the affected regions as part of a campaign to shape opinions in affected communities. Armenia Forests' director noted that he has experienced some staff revolt on this project, with his (now former) country director actively working against him. ¶15. (C) Affected residents have largely kept silent about the project. NGOs and ACP have both spoken to them - NGOs pointing to Kajaran as an example of what might happen to the area, and ACP promising jobs and other inducements. One NGO representative also told US that the GOAM has been trying to silence affected residents through the closure of a customs station near the Georgian border, a place where many villagers had been able to sell produce. With this closure they are left without a market, and some NGOs have interpreted this as a warning not to speak out against Teghut. COMMENT YEREVAN 00001311 003 OF 003 -------------- ¶16. (C) This is a situation where everybody may be right, but where hazards still lurk. Any mining project will entail environmental impacts, and we agree with ACP's Arzumanian that a large reserve like Teghut will eventually be developed. While ACP has pledged aggressive mitigation measures, the GOAM's reported efforts to suppress or intimidate opposition do not inspire confidence. Despite promises of new jobs, endemic corruption in Armenia raises the possibility that the benefits from exploiting this valuable reserve may go to a relative few, with the environmental and health costs spread among the larger population. PENNINGTON