Nature Management in Armenia

The mechanisms for using the land resources of Armenia and their types are determined by the forms of land ownership and are regulated by the Civil and Land Codes of the Republic of Armenia.

The ownership of land for citizens and legal entities is based on the privatization of state communal lands, inheritance, sale, donation and other acts related to land. Land plots are provided for use to land owners free of charge and on lease terms. Land owned by the state or communally owned shall be transferred on lease rights for no more than 99 years, agricultural land for 25 years.

Economic mechanisms of water use in the Republic of Armenia are regulated by:

• Water Code of the Republic of Armenia;
• Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Environmental and Environmental Management Payments”;
• Decree of the Government of the Republic of Armenia “On the Amount of Rates of Fees for Environmental Management” and other by-laws.

Water users in the republic can be government bodies, enterprises, organizations, institutions and citizens. Water bodies are provided for use in order to satisfy domestic, recreational, industrial, energy, transport, state and public needs.

All water users are required to pay for the water received in accordance with the procedures and fees established by the Government of Armenia. Water bodies are provided for permanent or temporary use (short-term - up to 3 years and long-term - 3-25 years).

The payment for water use is determined by the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Environmental and Environmental Management Fees” and is calculated on the basis of the volumes of water taken for the reporting period from natural water sources for consumption, with the exception of the volumes of water taken for fish farming, for which the calculation of fees is 5% of the total volume of water used.

The use of biological resources in Armenia is regulated by a number of legislative acts, including:

• RA Forest Code;
• RA Law “On the Animal World”;
• RA Law “On the Plant World”;
• Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Environmental and Environmental Management Fees”;
• RA Law “On the Amount of Rates of Payment for the Use of Nature” and a number of other by-laws.

The following types of forest management can be carried out in the forests of Armenia:

• timber harvesting;
• harvesting of secondary timber (stumps);
• secondary forest use (mowing, grazing, establishing hives and apiaries, collecting and harvesting wild fruits, nuts, mushrooms, berries, medicinal plants and technical raw materials);
• for the needs of the hunting economy;
• for research purposes;
• for cultural and recreational purposes.

Territories of the forest fund are provided for temporary use in a certain order: short-term - up to 5 years, long-term - 5-10 years. Their users can be enterprises, organizations and citizens of Armenia.

Forests in Armenia are of environmental importance.

The energy crisis in the republic is forcing the population to use firewood as energy carriers. Based on the urgent needs of the population for wood, the Government of the Republic of Armenia, under the “Winter” program, increased timber harvesting volumes. So, in 1993, the sales volume of wood was 206 thousand m ³ , in 1994 - 120 thousand m ³ , in 1995 - 150 thousand m ³ , in 1996 - 120 thousand m ³ , in 1997 - 90 thousand m ³ , in 1998 - 64 thousand m ³ , in 1999 - 36.7 thousand m ³ , in 2000 - 65 thousand m ³ . In the same years, the retail price of wood also changed.

Wood sales prices in the 1990s :

According to expert estimates, about 0.5 million m ^{3 is} currently burned in the republic in a year. wood, of which only 10-12% is accounted for by Armles.

According to the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Environmental and Nature Management Fees”, the use of wood in Armenia is paid, and a fee is established for its use, which depends on the type of wood, type of use, size of the cut of the tree and the distance of the cutting area from the edge of the forest.

Amateur fishing in Armenia is allowed everywhere, with the exception of state reserves. Fishing is mainly carried out on Lake Sevan, it accounts for more than 90% of the catch in the republic.

Prior to the descent of the Sevan water level, the main commercial species of fish were ishkhan and kohak , today - whitefish and crucian carp . In Armenia, a licensed fishing system was introduced in 1996. It replaced fishing carried out by state structures during the USSR and is based on licenses and agreements issued by the Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia.

Since ancient times, most of the plants in Armenia have been the object of economic activity. According to historical data, 2,000 species (about 60% of the flora) of plants were used for various purposes.

Nowadays, the population is actively using:

• from 50 wild fruit and fruit species - 4-15 species;
• from 850 tannins and dyes - 25-30 species;
• out of 270 essential oils - 4 species;
• more than 50 types of medicinal plants.

On the part of the state, it is impossible to control the collection of wild plants by individual citizens throughout Armenia, when the majority of the population is in a difficult financial situation and this type of environmental management in many cases becomes the only way to raise living standards.

According to the data of the Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia, in the republic in 1998 30.3 tons were procured, and in 1999 - 3.3 tons of medicinal plants.

State statistics on the collection of plants does not give a complete picture, however, at the expert level it can be argued that unregulated collection causes great damage to biodiversity and, increasing from year to year, takes on a catastrophic scale. Those biocenoses of semi-desert, steppe and meadow landscapes, where there are many medicinal, edible and decorative species, are especially affected.

Minerals in Armenia have been used since ancient times. They were used not only to satisfy their own needs, but also served for the exchange of goods.

To date, 417 deposits of solid minerals (non-ferrous, noble and ferrous metals, cladding and building stones, fillers for the production of building materials, gems and other multidisciplinary raw materials) have been discovered and taken to the state balance in Armenia, of which 135 are used. The rest 282 deposits (including 15 deposits of metal minerals) are recorded in the state balance sheet as explored deposits.

Today, according to the current legislation, all fees associated with the use of protected areas (commercial fishing, haying, timber harvesting, etc.), fines for violation of environmental laws, and the amount of compensation for the restoration of damage caused to nature are fully paid to the state budget .

Today, we can unequivocally state that economic mechanisms (levers) are still not fully functioning in these territories.

According to the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Armenia dated December 30, 1998, No. 864, from January 1, 1999, the rate for the use of each cubic meter of water from Lake Sevan is:

• for irrigation purposes - 0.2 drams,
• for other purposes - 1.5 drams.

As the main form of nature management for the national park, the optimal territorial organization of recreational services for the population has been established, and from other forms the development of those economic sectors that are part of the recreational infrastructure and directly use personal income in recreational services (agriculture, the production of souvenirs, etc.) is allowed. )

Given the limited possibilities of the state budget of Armenia, the significant monetary profits expected from this activity can have a significant role in the financial and technical strengthening of the organization of the Sevan National Park. ^[one]

• Desertification in Armenia
• Forests of Armenia