The American University of Armenia Center for Responsible Mining (AUA CRM) in partnership with the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) hosted a meeting in Yerevan in the scope of the CENN regional project, Promoting Environmental and Social Accountability in the Mining Sector in the Caucasus.
The purpose of the meeting was to present the activities carried out during project implementation in Georgia and Armenia. Project researchers presented major findings and perspectives based on baseline studies and stakeholder analysis reports prepared in both countries. Armenia’s stakeholder analysis, produced in partnership with Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center in Armenia, identifies and maps the activities, issues, needs and plans of mining-sector stakeholders in Armenia, including local NGOs, national, regional and local governmental bodies, academic institutions, international organizations and mining companies.
The meeting also facilitated discussion on recent legislative and policy changes in Armenia, the government’s institutional and enforcement capacity, and what, if anything, mining companies are doing to improve their environmental and social performance. At the completion of the meeting, the Georgian regional NGO representatives remarked that the meeting had shown them the striking similarities that exist between mining-sector issues in Georgia and Armenia.
The meeting was attended by members of Armenian and Georgian NGOs, as well as representatives from Armenia’s government, academic institutions, international organizations and the mining industry.
CENN’s regional project, Promoting Environmental and Social Accountability in the Mining Sector in the Caucasus is being implemented with financial support from the German fund, Bread for the World.
 