EcoLur
“Since 2007 the greatest environmental crime has been committed in the field of environment, which is called “grabbing” in other way…It’s about Lake Sevan, when the cleaning of forest-covered territories were launched in 2006.” Henrik Martirosyan is beating an alarm signal to EcoLur, who was holding the position of Deputy Director at Gegharkounik Territorial Division of State Environmental Inspection of Nature Protection Ministry from 2001 to 2007.
Under the official information on tree felling in Sevan National Park from 2006 to 2007, 380,000 pine trees and 60,000 poplars were realized in the amount of 33 billion AMD. According to Henrik Martirosyan, this process is accompanied with violations, “The Nature Protection Minister’s order was missing together with regulations for timber storing etc.”
In 2007 Sevan National Park SNCO submitted the report of 1,400,000 AD to the Inspection as final settlement of payments, when the amount of the calculations carried out by the specialist should have been made up 270 million AMD.
Henrik Martirosyan has informed the competent bodies about violations, such as the State Environmental Inspection, Nature Protection Minister and Civil Service Inspection, as well as 7 letters have been addressed to the ex and current public prosecutors since 2007. The replied read like “we would study and respond.” “They should have responded immediately, but haven’t done it and supported crime with their dubious studies,” said Henrik Martirosyan. Under him, the forest-covered area was cleaned of valuable timber, which was mainly sold to Iran, and now only bushes are left.
It should be mentioned the reports of Nature Protection Ministry on the cleaning of forest-covered territories mention only the size of the territory and the funds spent from the state budget. For example, under the calculations for 2013, the total area of flooded forest territories due to the increase in Lake Sevan level makes up around 2038 ha, out of which 1372 ha has already been cleaned. The state budget has cleaned around 726 million AMD, and as of today, around 665.8 ha of territory has remained to be cleaned.
The Nature Protection Ministry doesn’t provide any information on the amount and type of trees sold and the benefit made from sale.
February 19, 2014 at 11:23