Mugabil Bayramov, Chairman of the Azerbaijani Cartographers Public Union, a member of the Coalition that prepared the digital map, stated that a team of professionals had worked on this unique resource for more than a year. He noted that the Environmental Protection First Coalition had also prepared a map called "Mineral Raw Materials Resources of the Republic of Armenia" in 2024 in Azerbaijani, English, and Armenian, adding that the digital map based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) had been created based on the aforementioned map, but its materials had been significantly expanded. The author emphasized that the interactive map provides information on mineral types, their location, major polluting enterprises, as well as the substances contaminating rivers. “State bodies in Armenia prefer to remain tight-lipped about this, but we are also preparing maps in Armenian so that the local community can also wake up to the environmental crimes being concealed from them. This professional piece of cartographic work has been compiled using the modern "WGS-84" coordinate system, and it is possible to obtain detailed information about the objects by clicking on them. The map is based on both topographic and satellite images. Information about production enterprises was obtained as a result of the analysis of satellite images. The map provides the names of raw material processing enterprises, operating companies, the purpose of such enterprises, information about their environmental impact, as well as photo and video footage.”
Amin Mammadov, the co-founder of the Environmental Protection First (EPF) Coalition and Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, has noted that the ecocide activities of Armenia and foreign companies operating in this country and disregarding internationally accepted environmental norms and standards must be stopped immediately, and Armenia's pollution of the entire region must be prevented. The population of Armenia and the public of the regional countries must be informed about what is being hidden from them. “The cause started by Azerbaijani NGOs against the environmental implications of Armenia's mining industry has been welcomed by environmental organizations in various countries around the world. We have been receiving numerous messages of support. We conducted extensive work on this issue at the UN Civil Society Forum in Kenya in May 2024, at the UN Summit of the Future in the United States in September 2024, and at COP29 in November 2024. A number of environmental activists and international experts are horrified by Armenia's actions,” he said. Amin Mammadov added that discussions around the topic had already begun in the Iranian media. “The Iranian newspaper “Payam-e Ma,” which specializes in environmental problems, recently published an extensive article on the pollution of the Araz River. The report explicitly states that the Araz River is polluted with 59 heavy metals. The main contributors to the pollution of the water are aluminum, arsenic, copper, manganese, molybdenum, lead, and vanadium, which mainly originate from Armenia's mining enterprises,” he said.
Amin Mammadov recalled that the chairman of the Iranian Mining House, Mohammad Reza Bahraman, stated in a speech at the “Sustainable Development in the Mining Industry” conference held in Tehran in 2024 that wastewater from Armenian copper mines was discharged into the Araz River, but the Iranian government was turning a blind eye to this.
MP Parvana Valiyeva, the co-founder of the Environmental Protection First (EPF) Coalition and member of the Board of the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum, has said that Armenia should create conditions for Azerbaijani NGOs to conduct environmental monitoring of its mining enterprises jointly with international organizations and NGOs. “Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has been leaving the appeals of the Azerbaijani public and civil society representatives from dozens of countries unanswered on this issue for almost two years. Armenian mining enterprises have yet to disclose their Environmental Impact Assessment documents to the public.”
Parvana Valiyeva gave a positive assessment to the launch of the interactive digital map, noting that it contained national place names of the Azerbaijani people and references to historical maps related to them. She emphasized that it was also important from the standpoint of the memory of Western Azerbaijan.
Sabit Baghirov, the co-founder of the Environmental Protection First (EPF) Coalition, suggested that the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative should strengthen the criteria for the application of environmental norms in its Standard. “If this is the case, Armenia, as a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, will have to be more transparent and responsible in this area. The Secretariat of the UN Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes should also express a position on this problem. We are ready to meet with them because Armenia is shying away from joining this Convention,” he said.
It should be noted that the interactive digital map prepared by the Environmental Protection First (EPF) Coalition will be posted on the Coalition’s website in the coming days.
AzVision.az
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