Tweet
ARMENIAN WOODS: DESTRUCTION OR RESTORATION?
ArmInfo
2010-10-15 16:26:00
ArmInfo. In the last 20 years Armenia's woods have gone through a
real ordeal: illegal cuttings, climate changes... These are just few
of the obstacles preventing the recovery of the Armenian forests.
Experts say that as a result of the energy crisis of the 1990s
Armenia's woods have shrunk from 25% to 8% of the total territory and,
according to NASA's unpromising reports, this tendency continues:
in 2001 the forest lands made up 8% of the country's territory,
in 2006 they already made up 7.9%.
It turns out that not all of the woods are officially registered as
such. Due to a series of strange governmental decisions, 50,000 h of
forestry have been given the status of agricultural lands and pastures
and given to communities, who have sold them to some unknown people.
One of the most vivid examples is Hankavan Forest, whose 500 h are
officially reported as being pastures.
Nobody except ecological NGOs cares for the future of such pastures.
Tomorrow they may be turned into 50,000 h of desert while hundreds of
thousands of cut trees - into the legal income of some personalities.
This is not the only problem though. Illegal cuttings have been one
of the key concerns in the last few years. Ecologists report that
truckfuls of cut trees are being taken from the wooded areas. Lori
region is the leader in illegal cuttings. The last scandal took place
in Aug 2010 when 116 trees were cut in Gugark forestry. Foresters
give different reasons for such "green poaching" - one of them is
lack of arms and transport for controlling the territories.
According to mass media, mafia is behind illegal deforestation and
controls the shadow timber works. While the problems of uncontrolled
deforestation remain unresolved, forests are endangered by changes in
the climate. To understand the seriousness of the situation, one should
follow the analysis of the situation in Syunik region. Surveys show
that as compared with the average index of 1961-1990, the elements
in the region have declined by 9%, and over the period from 1935 to
2007 the average annual temperature rose by 0.7%. Besides, the number
of summer days with a temperature of over 25 degrees: in Meghri -
by 10 days, in Kapan and Goris - by 21 days.
Specialists say that the temperature rise, alongside with reduction
of elements, leads to deceleration of forest recovery processes. Over
the past 30-40 years, the lower zone of oak and hornbeam-oak forests
of Syunik has moved higher by 100 meters. According to the experts,
creation of nursery areas for drought-resistant trees might dampen
the consequences of the climate change.
So, what future will the Armenian forests have? While the state
structures say that forestry in Armenia makes up 12%, American
specialists are beating the alarm: if the situation does not change,
by 2020 the republic risks to remain without forests at all.
Ecologists say that a 5-year ban on deforestation may save forestry
from destruction.
However, at present ore mining companies also start making their own
contribution to destruction of green zones. For over several years
ecologists have been trying to stop deforestation in Teghut aimed at
developing the copper-molybdenum deposit. ACP assures that "only"
357 hectares of forests will be cut, but at the same time passes
in silence by the fact that several disappearing plants of Teghut
are included in the Red Book and belong to the first category of
especially rare plants, among them Caucasian persimmon, orchids,
galanthus. To note, the International Plant Protection Convention
forbids exporting galanthus bulbs from the republic.
Today Armenia's forests seem to be at a crossroad: one path leads
to their full destruction, the other one leads to their recovery,
and it is for the country's government to decide which path to choose.
From: A. Papazian
ArmInfo
2010-10-15 16:26:00
ArmInfo. In the last 20 years Armenia's woods have gone through a
real ordeal: illegal cuttings, climate changes... These are just few
of the obstacles preventing the recovery of the Armenian forests.
Experts say that as a result of the energy crisis of the 1990s
Armenia's woods have shrunk from 25% to 8% of the total territory and,
according to NASA's unpromising reports, this tendency continues:
in 2001 the forest lands made up 8% of the country's territory,
in 2006 they already made up 7.9%.
It turns out that not all of the woods are officially registered as
such. Due to a series of strange governmental decisions, 50,000 h of
forestry have been given the status of agricultural lands and pastures
and given to communities, who have sold them to some unknown people.
One of the most vivid examples is Hankavan Forest, whose 500 h are
officially reported as being pastures.
Nobody except ecological NGOs cares for the future of such pastures.
Tomorrow they may be turned into 50,000 h of desert while hundreds of
thousands of cut trees - into the legal income of some personalities.
This is not the only problem though. Illegal cuttings have been one
of the key concerns in the last few years. Ecologists report that
truckfuls of cut trees are being taken from the wooded areas. Lori
region is the leader in illegal cuttings. The last scandal took place
in Aug 2010 when 116 trees were cut in Gugark forestry. Foresters
give different reasons for such "green poaching" - one of them is
lack of arms and transport for controlling the territories.
According to mass media, mafia is behind illegal deforestation and
controls the shadow timber works. While the problems of uncontrolled
deforestation remain unresolved, forests are endangered by changes in
the climate. To understand the seriousness of the situation, one should
follow the analysis of the situation in Syunik region. Surveys show
that as compared with the average index of 1961-1990, the elements
in the region have declined by 9%, and over the period from 1935 to
2007 the average annual temperature rose by 0.7%. Besides, the number
of summer days with a temperature of over 25 degrees: in Meghri -
by 10 days, in Kapan and Goris - by 21 days.
Specialists say that the temperature rise, alongside with reduction
of elements, leads to deceleration of forest recovery processes. Over
the past 30-40 years, the lower zone of oak and hornbeam-oak forests
of Syunik has moved higher by 100 meters. According to the experts,
creation of nursery areas for drought-resistant trees might dampen
the consequences of the climate change.
So, what future will the Armenian forests have? While the state
structures say that forestry in Armenia makes up 12%, American
specialists are beating the alarm: if the situation does not change,
by 2020 the republic risks to remain without forests at all.
Ecologists say that a 5-year ban on deforestation may save forestry
from destruction.
However, at present ore mining companies also start making their own
contribution to destruction of green zones. For over several years
ecologists have been trying to stop deforestation in Teghut aimed at
developing the copper-molybdenum deposit. ACP assures that "only"
357 hectares of forests will be cut, but at the same time passes
in silence by the fact that several disappearing plants of Teghut
are included in the Red Book and belong to the first category of
especially rare plants, among them Caucasian persimmon, orchids,
galanthus. To note, the International Plant Protection Convention
forbids exporting galanthus bulbs from the republic.
Today Armenia's forests seem to be at a crossroad: one path leads
to their full destruction, the other one leads to their recovery,
and it is for the country's government to decide which path to choose.
From: A. Papazian