“Zangezour” Biospheric Complex: Question With No Answers

EcoLur                         

“Zangezour” Biospheric Complex: established in 2013: under ex Nature Protection Minister Aram Harutyunyan’s characterization, the best environmental program costing 8.25 million Euros.

Problem: the complex unites specially protected areas with different conservation regime: “Shikahogh” state reserve “Arevik” national park, “Sycamore Grove”, “Zangezour”, “Khoustoup”, “Bogaqar” and “Sev Litch” state reserves with a total area of around 70,000 ha under one administration.

Set Tasks:

- organization of international tender to select project implementer,

 - mapping and specification of “Arevik” national park borders,

- studies and assessment of socio-economic situation of neighboring communities.

SITUATION IN COMMUNITIES

Complex mapping hasn’t been accomplished.

No charter, as well as no management system developed.

RA Law “On Specially Protected Areas” has no definition of biospheric complex with relevant status and conservation regime.

Discussions of “best” environmental program haven’t been carried out in the communities, information is almost missing and is incomplete.

Result: the communities don’t know what the conservation regime of the specially protected areas is and which activities comply with the environmental legislation of Armenia, what kind of activities they are allowed to do which are not. 

EcoLur is presenting the interview of “Trade Union” NGO Head Arthur Ghazaryan with two residents from Litchq and Tashtoun communities located in neighborhood with either buffer, or household or reserve zone of “Arevik” national park. The specification of the status will be done after the borders of the park will be approved by the State Cadastre.

Litchq Community Head Hovhannes Mirzoyan, Syunik Region: It seemed to me, when one speaks about “Arevik” National Park, it’s about the state forest, which shall turn into a national park. All these areas should have been included into the territory of “Arevik” national park. Recently (April 2015) we revealed about an area, which is an administrative area of our community, but this area is also included in the territory of the national park.

Arthur Ghazaryan: That is, nobody informed and discussed this issue with the community head and the community itself?

Hovhannes Mirzoyan: No.

Arthur Ghazaryan: Whether public hearings or discussions on the establishment a protected area were held?

Hovhannes Mirzoyan: No hearings were held on the national park...Just two days ago I learnt that an area, which is our pasture, is factually not within our administrative area and it belongs to the national park.

Tashtoun Community Head Henrik Gabrielyan, Syunik Region: When the land areas of Tashtoun community were included in the national park, we didn’t know anything about it. We learnt about it only when mapping works were launched.  

Arthur Ghazaryan: That is, they didn’t ask you either?

Henrik Gabrielyan: They didn’t ask either me or the villagers. I have been holding the office of Community Head, but we were never asked whether we are “for” or “against” the national park...But I do know, where there was no park, the forestry enterprise didn’t exist either (note by EcoLur: “Arevik” National Park includes land areas of the forest fund – Meghri forestry enterprise): at that time the problem was that people were not allowed to enter the forest and pasture the animals... But people were granted cut and people paid and cut wood, which solved some kind of social problems. Now no cut permit is granted. Maybe this territory is already a national park?

Henrik Gabrielyan: The community ha 700 ha of forest fund, but if we look at how many people live in our village, it’ maximum 30 families. And these 30 families seriously experience problems with wood. Tomorrow it will be worse.

Henrik Gabrielyan: We heard that this area has been included into the national park, but the community residents don’t know anything about it.

EcoLur: When will Meghrasar mine be developed?

Henrik Gabrielyan: Mine can’t be developed with such technologies….No operations since December, redundancies.

EcoLur:  What are your relations with “Arevik” National Park?

Tashtoun Community Resident 1: None. Everything is banned, no wood, a reserve zone, what else can it be?

EcoLur’s question: That is, you are incurring social harm?

Resident: Yes, we are. We used to take wood from the forest, but now it’ banned, and we have to drive to Kapan to buy wood, though we live in the forest.   

Tashtoun Community Resident 2: That is, this special regime has special demonstrations for our community. Our winter lasts for 6-7 months. No gas. We need heating and we need wood. Here in November we are allowed to cut 1-2 trees to be able to survive and some people think it’s the way to be.

EcoLur’s question: So, how do you survive?

Resident: At the expense of our orchards. We have apple trees planted still in the Soviet period. We cut down apple trees and destroy the orchard. Children don’t ask whether trees will give harvest or not. They are cold, that’s all... The village is dying out, and there is currently no program to help us.

EcoLur’s question: When Meghrasar mine was opened, did you benefit in any way?

Resident: It was closed down like it opened. Workers are sitting at home. They were told to have a rest.

EcoLur’s question: That is, you didn’t benefit from mining in any way?

Resident: Nothing

EcoLur’s question: Do you deal with agriculture?

Resident: How to deal with, if you don’t have any duel, seedlings, trees are cut down, we don’t have anything here… When you listen to Agriculture Minister, it seems to you everything is available, everything is good, but particularly our community is deprived of everything.   

Conclusion: The problem of new complex management faced one of the main problems - absence of working social and economic programs for the community.

Questions: Whether 8.2 million Euros promised by German KfW bank to “Zangezour” Biospheric Complex will help the communities? Whether these programs will be discussed with the communities? Whether gas pipelines will be laid to preserve the forest? Whether Meghrasar open pit mining will again be developed (which has uranium and gold according to geologists’ publications)? How “Arevik” National Park or “Shikahogh” reserve will be preserved, where the funds of the international environmental foundations were spent in the recent year?

Replies: We still don’t have answers, but they will soon appear, as KfW promised to transfer the first tranche of the aforementioned 8.2 million Euros. 

May 07, 2015 at 14:02