EcoLur
The employment conditions of Armenian and Georgian foresters completely differ from each other. During the media tour organized by EcoLur the team of Armenian and Georgian journalists had meetings with the foresters from both countries and was interested in their working conditions.
As it turned out the foresters in Armenia don't have necessary equipment and machinery, uniforms, they are not armed and control 700-1500 ha of forest on foot. The monthly salary is about US $ 150.
The salary of a Georgian forester is around US $ 250. They are equipped with necessary equipment and facilities and cars, which are updated once every three years and even guns, which can be used for self-defense.
Georgia having around 40% of forest cover don't have any forestry enterprises, instead they have forest services, the employment of which is regulated by National Forest Agency working under the Ministry for Environment and Natural Resources.
Chief Specialist of Forest Service Temur Yebarashvili said in his interview with journalists that, for example, in Marneuli region annually 50,000-60,000 cum fuel wood is cut down. According to him, the percentage of illegal tree felling is around 10%, which is conditioned with not only control, but also low prices of fuel wood: one cum fuel wood costs around 6 lari (around 1200 AMD), while one cum of fuel wood in Armenia costs from 7000 to 12000 AMD.
This material has been prepared in the course of the training and media tour designed for journalists in the frames of ENPI FLEG II, which is implemented by the World Bank in partnership with the IUCN and WWF with the financial support of the Austrian Development Agency.
November 04, 2016 at 09:45