Armenia is one of the world’s 70 countries with scarce forests that today faces the serious challenge of preserving forests as logging in the country continues to loom large.

Forests in Armenia make around 334,000 hectares (11 percent), of which about 277,000 hectares are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Hayantar state non-profit organization, while the rest are listed as specially protected areas.

Hayantar’s chief forester Ruben Petrosyan says 28 percent of Armenia’s forests are in quite a bad condition and there are very few forests with good quality. He attributes illegal logging to social issues.

“In the country where there are serious social problems not only the abuse of forests but also other natural resources is a common phenomenon,” says Petrosyan, adding that in recent years logging in Armenia has dropped dramatically, which is primarily connected with efforts to create infrastructure for natural gas supply.

“In 2003, about 42,000 trees were illegally cut, and last year only 2,520 trees, meanwhile, the [reported] number of illegally cut trees this year is 1,750,” says the chief forester.
Petrosyan thinks that it will be possible to eliminate illegal logging through investment projects.

“Now we have a financial decline, although we still work with a number of international organizations, but their investments are not enough,” says Petrosyan, reporting that Hayantar had submitted a draft resolution to the government under which it will be allowed to collect for free the remnants of the forest, which, according to Petrosyan, will reduce illegal logging by 50 percent.