About 4,000 ha of degraded lands in Gorayk consolidated community, Syunik Region, and Tumanyan consolidated community, Lori Region, will be restored within the framework of the "Fulfillment of Armenia's obligations in the context of neutralization of land degradation through sustainable management of land resources and restoration of degraded landscapes" project. This was announced on October 5, 2022, during the launch workshop of the Project.
Referring to the main goals of project, Ani Sirakanyan, an employee at Program Implementation and Monitoring Department of Environmental Program Implementation Unit of RA Environment Ministry, noted that Gorayk and Tumanyan were chosen because they are vulnerable communities from the view point of land degradation. "Measures to prevent the process of degradation will be implemented in these communities. It is estimated to restore about 4000 ha of meadow. This is our global goal, the interim one is the review of the legal bases," she said in her private interview with EcoLur.
Soil scientist, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, Professor, Academician of International Academy of Ecology Ashot Khoyetsyan noted that more than 80% of the territory of the entire republic is considered a desert-dangerous area, out of which more than 30% are heavily degraded lands. They include intensive, eroded, swampy, salinized and abandoned agricultural land.
"With quantitative data, no one can say for sure today, because the desertification process is proceeding at a catastrophic speed in the territory of our country," he said. According to Ashot Khoyetsyan, during the last 25-30 years, the primary salinized soils of Ararat Valley have doubled due to the secondary salinized soils, which is entirely of anthropogenic origin. "If the first 25,000 hectares were the result of slow land degradation over thousands of years, then during the last 30 years after privatization, secondary salinization doubled mainly as a result of intensive use of the Ararat Basin," he said.
October 07, 2022 at 15:13