Svarants is a village nestled in the foothills leading to the Tatev Monastery in the Syunik region of Armenia. The entire area has been included in a development program whose main focus is tourism.

The only catch is that the area is now being targeted for extensive mining operations. The question now being debated in Armenia is whether the two sectors can effectively coexist?

Readers are aware that an aerial tramway was recently launched at Tatev, taking visitors and tourists from the village of Halidzor to the mountain top where the medieval monastery awaits.

The day I went, the cable car was full of German tourists. When we got airborne, all I heard were sighs of amazement from those inside the car. Little did they know about the heated debate now going on between advocates of environmental/cultural tourism and the mining interests in Armenia.

I remember the day the aerial tram was officially launched. A woman from the village of Tatev was complaining that the tourists would bypass the village on the way to the monastery up above.

"Those tourists travel across all Armenia just on one tomato and a carton of juice. Why will they come into our village to spend money? The tramway brings them and takes them away. Is there anything interesting for them min that dilapidated village of Svarants?"

I wanted to interview some of the locals and met up with a guy called Artur from Tatev. He was to escort me to Svarants.

Even though the village mayor promised to show up for some questions, he was suddenly called away on important business before I got there.

When we arrived the mayor's office was closed and the surrounding yard deserted. In the nearby church yard, a few teenage boys were engaged in a heated discussion. I approached and asked if they would answer a few questions. They replied that they were willing.

I asked if they would ever like to move somewhere else if they could.

One of the boys quickly replied, "Oh, you're talking about that iron mine? In school we discuss the issue. They tell us the mine is bad for the environment and poisons the body."

They all told me that the mining operation issue is the number one topic of debate in their families. However, they added that they couldn't care less since there wasn't anything to do in the village for the young people anyway. If they had the chance they would leave as many have already done to the neighboring towns of Kapan or Goris.

I was surprised to learn that most had given up on making a living in the village. The boys said many of the houses had already been abandoned with locks on the doors.

75 year-old Anoush was born and raised in Svarants. Out of a large extended family only one son remains.

"There's no work here. What can people do but move to Kapan or Russia? I asked her about the iron mine to start up just seven kilometers away.

"Yeah, I've heard of it but unless I see it with my own eyes I won't believe it," she responded, adding that she would also move to a nearby town if forced out by the mining operation.

Local postman Andranik Tzatryan also was concerned about the village's dismal future prospects.

"At one time there were 134 people receiving pensions here, now there are 75. The number of children enrolled in the school is also down. This all means that there is no growth in Svarants. There are more old people than youngsters," said the postman, juggling his Soviet-era worry-beads.

Nver Vardanyan, Principal of the Svarants High School said the building, equipped to hold over 400 pupils, now only has an enrollment of 35.

He told me that village residents had mixed feelings about the future mining operations.

"Sure, some see new jobs being created. But the tramway is of no benefit to us here in the village. Nothing trickles down to us here from that tourism increase."

I guess this is a fairly accurate picture of what's happening on the ground in the vicinity of Tatev.

Svarants may be incorporated in Armenia's National Competitiveness Foundation development plan but residents have little to show for it.

They also view the promises of a brighter future made by the Foundation with more than a degree of healthy misgiving.

No wonder many now look to mining as the only viable solution left; at least in the short-term.

A few, like Principal Vardanyan, are not so sure.

"Oftentimes, people forget about the generations to come and the threats they will face due to environmental pollution. Today, we boast about eating ecologically clean produce in our homes but what will we boast about tomorrow if the mines start up?"