Against Desertification: Appeals by environmentalists remain a cry in the wilderness
Armenia Tree Project has helped transform many locations in Armenia, like this one (pictured) in Khor Virap (before & after tree planting)
Ecology experts say up to 80 percent of Armenian land is threatened by desertification. Environmentalists meanwhile say the government is not doing enough to curb the risks and any efforts are overwhelmed by the continuing unrestrained exploitation. Construction projects carried out at the expense of green areas in capital Yerevan and salinization of agricultural lands are pointed out as major contributors to the risk of deforestation.
On June 17, which is marked as International Day against Desertification, the Environment Ministry’s representative, coordinator of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification Ashot Vardevanyan stated that since Armenia acceded to the Convention in 2002, only two pilot projects (worth a total of $70,000) have been implemented in the country. He said, though, that a national program to combat desertification has been developed. Vardevanyan gave a vague answer to the media question as to what specific actions are included in the national program and when this program is expected to produce results. Vardevanyan added that a fund had been set up for those using the entrails of the earth to transfer money to for the restoration of eco-systems that suffer damage in consequence of open-pit mining operations. But the official still found it difficult to state how much money has been accumulated in the fund so far. “The level of Lake Sevan has increased, right?” Vardevanyan said at a press conference, scouring his memory for examples of other results achieved in combating desertification in Armenia. In contrast to Vardevanyan’s optimistic mood, Armenian environmentalists for several years have expressed serious concerns about desertification in Armenia. Even the World Bank has warned Armenia’s authorities about the risks. According to official data, Armenia has a forest area of only 10 percent, but environmental organizations, based on their own research, argue it is even less – 8 percent. It is estimated that if desertification continues for another 20 years, Armenia will lose almost all of its forests and woods. According to Vardevanyan, the main factors that cause desertification are illegal logging, excessive use of pastures and improper organization of the rural economy. Chairman of the Union of Greens of Armenia Hakob Sanasaryan says that “everything is being done on the state level for the desertification to continue.” “Agricultural lands are shrinking, fertile lands get eroded with saline, forests are cut, the entrails of the earth are being exploited unsparingly, and mining is considered to be a key industry,” says Sanasaryan. But Ruben Petrosyan, the chief forester of the Hayantar (Armenia Forest) state-run non-profit organization that oversees forests in the country, says that illegal logging is being curbed in Armenia. “For example, as many as 27,000 cases of illegal logging were registered in 2003 in the areas controlled by Hayatnar; last year the number of registered cases of illegal tree-cutting was 2,000,” says Petrosyan. But environmentalists continue to insist that deforestation caused by logging continues in Armenia. “Every year a large amount of high-quality timber is exported to European countries, and wood of poor quality remains,” says Sanasaryan. Hayantar and a number of environmental organizations have implemented tree-planting projects in different parts of Armenia in recent years in order to repair the damage done to the country’s green areas during the years of a severe energy crisis in the 1990s when people cut trees for firewood. But it takes these planted trees some 15-20 years to grow into proper forests – and then only if properly cultivated. Recently, for example, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) together with Armenia Tree Project and Hayantar implemented tree planting on an area of 630 hectares in deforested lands near three rural communities in Armenia’s northern Lori province. The goal of the project is to mitigate the impact of climate change through forest landscape restoration. Armenia Tree Project has made a particularly significant contribution to the restoration of forests in Armenia. The non-profit organization based in the United States and Armenia has been actively engaged in tree-planting activities in Armenia in the past decade and a half.
On June 17, which is marked as International Day against Desertification, the Environment Ministry’s representative, coordinator of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification Ashot Vardevanyan stated that since Armenia acceded to the Convention in 2002, only two pilot projects (worth a total of $70,000) have been implemented in the country. He said, though, that a national program to combat desertification has been developed. Vardevanyan gave a vague answer to the media question as to what specific actions are included in the national program and when this program is expected to produce results. Vardevanyan added that a fund had been set up for those using the entrails of the earth to transfer money to for the restoration of eco-systems that suffer damage in consequence of open-pit mining operations. But the official still found it difficult to state how much money has been accumulated in the fund so far. “The level of Lake Sevan has increased, right?” Vardevanyan said at a press conference, scouring his memory for examples of other results achieved in combating desertification in Armenia. In contrast to Vardevanyan’s optimistic mood, Armenian environmentalists for several years have expressed serious concerns about desertification in Armenia. Even the World Bank has warned Armenia’s authorities about the risks. According to official data, Armenia has a forest area of only 10 percent, but environmental organizations, based on their own research, argue it is even less – 8 percent. It is estimated that if desertification continues for another 20 years, Armenia will lose almost all of its forests and woods. According to Vardevanyan, the main factors that cause desertification are illegal logging, excessive use of pastures and improper organization of the rural economy. Chairman of the Union of Greens of Armenia Hakob Sanasaryan says that “everything is being done on the state level for the desertification to continue.” “Agricultural lands are shrinking, fertile lands get eroded with saline, forests are cut, the entrails of the earth are being exploited unsparingly, and mining is considered to be a key industry,” says Sanasaryan. But Ruben Petrosyan, the chief forester of the Hayantar (Armenia Forest) state-run non-profit organization that oversees forests in the country, says that illegal logging is being curbed in Armenia. “For example, as many as 27,000 cases of illegal logging were registered in 2003 in the areas controlled by Hayatnar; last year the number of registered cases of illegal tree-cutting was 2,000,” says Petrosyan. But environmentalists continue to insist that deforestation caused by logging continues in Armenia. “Every year a large amount of high-quality timber is exported to European countries, and wood of poor quality remains,” says Sanasaryan. Hayantar and a number of environmental organizations have implemented tree-planting projects in different parts of Armenia in recent years in order to repair the damage done to the country’s green areas during the years of a severe energy crisis in the 1990s when people cut trees for firewood. But it takes these planted trees some 15-20 years to grow into proper forests – and then only if properly cultivated. Recently, for example, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) together with Armenia Tree Project and Hayantar implemented tree planting on an area of 630 hectares in deforested lands near three rural communities in Armenia’s northern Lori province. The goal of the project is to mitigate the impact of climate change through forest landscape restoration. Armenia Tree Project has made a particularly significant contribution to the restoration of forests in Armenia. The non-profit organization based in the United States and Armenia has been actively engaged in tree-planting activities in Armenia in the past decade and a half.
Source URL: http://www.armenianow.com/social/environment/23744/armenia_desertification_un_convention