hy.armradio.am, Nune Avetisyan
Experts are discussing the current issue in Yerevan’s urban greening sector. The process of tree pruning and felling being carried out in the capital is a concern not only for citizens but also for experts. Anush Nersesyan, Senior Researcher at Institute of Botany of NAS RA after Armen Takhtajyan, speaking at a roundtable discussion hosted by EcoLur on the topic “Green Zones: Assessing Current Situation and Future Prospects,” initially welcomed the increase in green spaces, but at the same time stressed that the long-standing problem of improper tree pruning continues to this day.
According to the researcher from the Institute of Botany, planting new species should not come at the cost of removing large, functionally significant tree species. In response to the concerns raised by the expert, Artur Khalatyan, Deputy Director for Development at Yerevan Municipality’s “Landscape Greening and Environmental Protection” NGO, stated that citizens themselves are voicing complaints.
Ruben Petrosyan, an expert from the Food and Agriculture Organization, proposed introducing a new approach to the pruning process. He emphasized that newly planted trees should be pruned properly from a young age in order to avoid the need for what he called “deep pruning” later on.
The expert also noted that the current greening efforts in the city are not sufficient to protect residents from dust and wind. According to Petrosyan, the only solution is to restore the three green forest belts that existed in the 1990s.
April 14, 2025 at 16:56