Environmental and human rights organizations in Armenia have called for operations at the Amulsar gold mine to be suspended and a new environmental impact assessment to be conducted as the UN biodiversity conference COP17 takes place in Yerevan.

A joint statement demanding the measures was signed by 33 organizations, civic initiatives and individuals, according to Armenia Today.

The signatories argue that gold mining at Amulsar poses risks to water resources, regional biodiversity and the mineral water sources of Jermuk.

They also raised concerns about shortcomings in the environmental assessments conducted for the project and urged COP17 participants to pay greater attention to the potential environmental consequences.