The draft decision "On Approving Forestry Policy, Strategy аnd National Action Plan оf Republic оf Armenia" is in the stage of agreements. Artur Petrosyan, Head of Department of Forest Policy of Environment Ministry, announced this during a workshop organized ahead of 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Yerevan.
Reminder: "Under the Paris Agreement of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Nationally Determined Contributions 2021-2030 of the Republic of Armenia (Government Decision No. 610-L of 2021)”, Armenia has committed to adopt a new National Forest Plan, according to which the forest cover should be increased by 50,000 ha to 12.9% of Armenia's territory by 2030.
According to Artur Petrosyan, 15 key strategic directions of forest policy have been outlined.
"The implementation of the first stage of the national forest inventory is planned to be completed in 2028, and then the national forest monitoring information system and biodiversity monitoring system will be implemented," said Artur Petrosyan.
According to the speaker, it is necessary to adjust the boundaries of the existing forest reserves within "ArmForest" SNCO, to carry out measures aimed at protecting the habitats (biotopes) of plant and animal organisms subject to special protection, to restore the forests around Lake Sevan.
Representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Mary Sahakyan referred to the programs and reforms implemented in the forestry sector. The speaker presented " Increasing the resilience of forests in Armenia through adaptation due to mitigation measures and expansion of green spaces in rural areas" project.
The program for 2021-2029 plans to expand the forest cover in Lori and Syunik Regions by 2.5%, reduce the demand for firewood by 30% by increasing the efficiency of stoves, and strengthen the toolkit of sustainable and climate-adaptive forest management. It is expected that about 20 million tons of carbon dioxide will not be emitted into the atmosphere within 20 years due to the interlinked forest-energy approach.
Mary Sahakyan noted that within the framework of the project, nurseries were established in Hrazdan and Sisian, where planting material with a closed root system is produced. "We plan to carry out the first planting works in Syunik and Lori Regions in the near future. Forestry and landscape reassessment will be carried out both on degraded forest lands and abandoned pastures,” she noted.
November 13, 2023 at 17:13