SAVE
TEGHUT
Animals
and Birds of Teghut forest will stay homeless
Our
trip to Teghut on December 9, 2007
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______________________Save
Teghut____________________
Teghut, with its thousands of acres of virgin forest
and rich ecosystem in Northern Armenia, is home to hundreds of species
of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and plants, including many that
are registered in the International Red Book of Endangered Species.
Armenian Copper Program (ACP), with approval from Armenia’s
Ministry of Nature Protection, plans to clear-cut over 1,500 acres
of Teghut's forest in order to establish an open pit strip mining
operation for copper and molybdenum ore. In addition, ACP plans to
create a “tailing dump” in a nearby pristine gorge,
where heavy metals and other toxins from mining waste will
leach into the
ground and into the river flowing through the gorge, ultimately
contaminating the local water supply.
ACP's Alaverdi copper smelter with no filters
What do we know about Armenian Copper Program’s track record?
ACP owns the infamous Alaverdi Smelter, which processes copper ore
for a consortium of mining companies in the region. The Alaverdi
smelter, notorious for belching tens of thousands of tons of sulfur
oxides annually into the atmosphere, is having disastrous effects
on the health and well-being of the local population, and on the
ecosystem from acid rain. Since the smelter’s re-opening
in the late 1990's, the town of Alaverdi has seen a dramatic
increase in the number of reported cases of respiratory disease,
sterility,
and severe birth defects. The smelter has no emission controls,
and
the company claims to be unable to afford the cost of installing
them.
Rather than destroy the Teghut Forest, we propose that it be
made into a nature reserve as part of a concerted effort to
develop sustainable
tourism in the valley. Tourism is a sustainable form of economic
development that benefits the local population without causing
permanent damage to the environment. Teghut could attract people
from around
the world who want to see the rich landscape, biodiversity,
and cultural heritage that is unique to this area.
We are environmental and
animal protection activist and we are working to stop the process.
Our aim is to unit activists from all over the world, because environmental
problem cannot be a problem of one country, it is a problem of
the Earth. We love our nature, we love animals and we are ready
to fight for it!
