“Stakeholder Analysis of the Mining Sector in Armenia” report was released in 2015. It was produced by the American University of Armenia Center for Responsible Mining, Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) and Transparency International Anticorruption Center in Armenia as part of “Promoting Environmental and Social Accountability in the Mining Sector in the Caucasus” project, with financial support from Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World). It sums up the results of a survey on mining sector in Armenia, participated by the following stakeholders: national, regional and local governmental bodies, scientific institutions, local NGOs, international organizations and mining companies. From March 2015 to May 2015, stakeholders were invited to take part in the analysis through an official request sent by TIAC by completing a questionnaire, consisting of 25 questions.

The objective of the survey is to identify and map the activities and capacities, the specific issues and needs of mining sector stakeholders, as well as the problems related to the mining sector in Armenia and their proposed solutions. Some key findings are made based on the responses of each stakeholder group.

National government – Key problems in the mining sector identified by national government representatives include lack of expertise and investments and the need for targeted monitoring and training of specialists.

Regional government – The problems noted by representatives of regional government are lack of investments, expertise and infrastructure, an excessive number of laws and regulations, as well as mineral resource extraction and processing being accompanied by large volumes of waste and emissions harmful to human health and the environment.

Local government – Local government representatives stated that they face problems with collecting environmental taxes and fees, environmental protection, particularly with tailings flowing into nearby rivers that are used to irrigate farms, mass tree cutting, expropriation of agricultural lands through use of eminent domain and air pollution.

Scientific institutions – The scientific institutions noted the following challenges: information about mining operations and geological data being mostly confidential and often inaccessible, recommendations provided by scientific institutions are mostly rejected and not applied, government does not consider proposals coming from sources outside of government, local experts are not engaged for mine exploration, project design, etc. by mining companies, and mining companies fail to provide internships for students to promote knowledge and capacity.

Local NGOs – Representatives of local NGOs identified the following problems related to Armenia’s mining sector: low level of public awareness on environmental and legal issues, a lack of organization in civil society that acts within a well-developed political culture, relevant information not being made public by government institutions, complete lack of oversight by government authorities, and low level of expert involvement.

Mining companies – The mining companies stated that the following steps should be taken to ensure up-to-date environmental protection and social responsibility standards in the mining sector: Improvement of the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment, building capacity for better environmental impact assessments, improvement of the process of issuing licenses, making pollution reporting requirements more strict, and improvement of safety regulations, and where necessary updating of old regulations to keep pace with technological progress.

International organizations – The international organizations that took part in the survey noted the following problems in Armenia’s mining sector: poor enforcement of the law, a lack of information from mining companies, the irreversible impact on the environment and human health, impoverishment of areas with heavy mining, and the government’s decision to become an “attachment” state that allows developed countries to exploit Armenia’s natural resources, while paying low taxes and creating environmental problems.

The stakeholders proposed solutions to the problems.

To be informed about the solutions and other important issues see “Stakeholder Analysis of the Mining Sector in Armenia” report.