Study on deforestation in Armenia made public with OSCE Office support

YEREVAN, 27 June 2007 - A study on deforestation in Armenia, prepared by the Economy and Values Research Centre with financial support from the British Embassy, was made public today with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. The study is a first attempt to assess the volume of illegal logging and how it is intertwined with the wood processing industry.

"This unique report helps bring light to one of the darkest areas of Armenia's economy," said Jeffrey Tufenkian, President of the Armenian Forests non-governmental organization. "We see this not as an end in itself, but an excellent starting point, from which we can all move forward to help shift Armenia from a mode of deforestation to reforestation," he said.

Armenia is one of the world's 70 countries where forests cover less than 10 per cent of the country's area. In today's Armenia, deforestation is largely due to the illegal logging of forests to obtain wood for construction and fuel. The study revealed that 9 per cent of households in Armenia use wood as fuel for cooking and heating, and more than 300 small, medium and large wood processing companies operating in Armenia use 10 times more wood than the volumes set by the state for annual cutting.

"Supporting Armenian authorities and civil society in sustainable forest management is the focus of the OSCE Office activities within the framework of the OSCE's comprehensive approach to environment and security", said Jeannette Kloetzer, Economic and Environmental Officer at the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

"Raising awareness and national capacity building are important steps to prevent illegal logging and to restore Armenia's forests as an environmentally and economically viable resource."

The study recommends addressing the problem of deforestation on the economic level by expanding natural gas supply to remote villages via micro-credits, exempting of taxes for importing wood to Armenia, promoting recycling and renewable energy production and tightening the enforcement of policies and regulations.

The study will be presented to the Government and a task force will be established for the implementation of the recommendations suggested in the report.

The report was commissioned by EcoArmenia, an alliance of several organizations, including the World Wide Fund Armenia, the Environmental and Conservation Research Centre at the American University of Armenia, the Armenia Tree Project, the Armenian Forests NGONGO
non-governmental organization and the OSCE Office.

The full report in English and Armenian can be obtained on the following links:

http://www.ev.am/News/EV-Forests%20Study-27-06-07-final-eng.pdf
http://www.ev.am/News/EV-Forest%20Industry%20Report%20-%20Arm%20-%2027…