The number of forest fires has increased in Armenia
The number of forest fires has increased in Armenia
27 August 2012
published by www.armradio.am
Armenia–– Lena Badeyan Radiolur
The number of forest fires has increased in the world has increased as a result of global climate changes. The average number of fires in the world reaches two thousand annually. The number of forest fires has increased in Armenia, as well. Most of them are caused by the human factor. However, a criminal case has been launched only in one case. Specialists say cutting of trees causes less damage to the forests than fires.
The human factor is the cause of 93% of the fires on the forest-covered areas of Armenia. As a rule, people forget to set the fire off after the rest in the open air.
According to Deputy Director of the Hayantar State Non-Commercial Organization Ruben Petrosyan, its very hard to catch the man guilty of the fire. Only in one case the issue has been brought to the court. Lat year the fire in Lalvar Forestry Enterprise caused a damage of 95 mln AMD. However, the court decided to fine 400 thousand AMD.
Ruben Petrosyan confesses that its not always possible to restore the forests. Usually, the restoration programs are considered a success, when the flammability of the seedling is at least 60%.
Forest-covered areas comprise 11% of Armenias territory or 338,333 hectares. The number has increased as compared to 1990s, but the quality of the forest is lower today, Director of Hayantar SNCO says. The Ministry of Emergency Situations helps Hayantary fight the forest fires.