EcoLur
The public is much concerned with the situation in the forest sector of Armenia and by decrees made by state bodies. In this regard on 6 April NGOs sent an appeal to Nature Protection Ministry of Armenia, Agriculture Ministry, Territorial Administration Ministry, “ArmForest” SNCO, the State Center for Forest Monitoring, World Bank, ENPI-FLEG, GEF, UNDP, REC Caucasus, FAO, WWF.
“We demand to stop eliminating Armenian forests. The official data that our forests didn’t get reduced, but increased, are not true. According to studies based o space shooting, difference between official data and independent assessments occasionally reach up to 70%. More or less data about unattainable forests coincide. These forests have survived as sanitary felling hasn’t reached them.
The Armenian Government declared about its commitment to international processes connected with climate change prevention and takes part in programs fighting against desertification and biodiversity conservation. These programs are connected with forest preservation. Nevertheless, the new plans of Agriculture Ministry represented by “ArmForest” SNCO only speak about under-financing of forest sector by 30%. While a paradoxical solution is proposed – financing is needed to preserve forest, while forest felling is needed to obtain financing.
For this purpose ArmForest intends to increase felling volumes by several times, as if for fight against illegal felling, as well as to introduce business programs for those who intend to make investments in forest sector. There are also far-reaching plans to make attainable forests unattainable, for example, by laying new roads or to make transfer belts through which our forest resources will be taken away.
It’s clear who will be these tender winners. We have already eye witnessed such a process when fish was hunted in Sevan according to business plans, which resulted in a huge lake remaining without any fish, while now Nature Protection Ministry having approved these business programs received another funding for fish reserve restoration.
Government bodies must understand forest is not a source of funding - a resource to be sold out to earn money, but a necessary condition for survival. If we lose forest, we will lose everything – water, soil and country.
We demand to solve the problem of forest sector financing not through its selling, but through its preservation and increase in forest territories. Grant and loan programs must be oriented in this direction which are implemented in cooperation with international organizations, including World Bank, GEF, UNDP, FАО, ENPI-FLEG, REC Caucasus, WWF, etc.
We demand to finally solve the issue of conducting independent assessment and examinations of forest-covered territories, including specially protected territories, with the use of contemporary technologies such as space shooting.
We demand to stop all the plans in regard with forest felling till reliable data will emerge.
We demand to comply with provisions of the Aarhus Convention “On Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters”
In this regard we demand for all documents concerning forest sector, including those drawn up with the support of door organizations to be transparent for public till their final confirmation. They must be displayed on the websites of governmental ministries and departments, or if these documents are developed with the support of international donors, to display them on the websites of donor organizations.
Inga Zarafyan, “EcoLur” Informational NGO
Nazeli Vardanyan, “Armenian Forests” NGO
Silva Adamyan, “Bird Lovers Center” NGO
Hasmik Aslanyan, “Shogher” NGO
Greta Gabrielyan, “ Ecological Academy” NGO
Levon Martirosyan “Geofon” NGO
Svetlana Aslanyan, “Center for the Development of Civil Society” NGO”
April 06, 2011