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Varduhi Zakaryan

Armenian Forests NGO Starts a New Tree-Planting Project

Within the framework of the USAID-funded project entitled Community Environmental Action Groups, the NGO Armenian Forests organized a tree-planting on March 29, 2006 in the Freedom Fighters' Memorial Grove in the town of Ijevan in the Tavush Marz, with the participation of the local municipality and students' group.

"There will be roses at the entrance to the grove, and there will be evenly-trimmed bushes forming a green hedge along the length of the grove. The khachkar (cross-stone) will be surrounded by roses and other flowers and inside the grove; pine-trees and tuyas will be planted. We are planning to plant one hundred trees and 1,300 bushes," explained Atabek Abazyan, who is in charge of Ijevan's greenery. Ten days earlier, the same group of volunteers planted 250 trees near the entrance to the town.

The mayor of Ijevan, Varuzhan Nersisyan, welcomed the fact that in addition to Ijevan residents, NGOs were interested in the preserving town's green areas as well. "I hope that now people will view the issue with understanding, will be more consistent, and next time we'll be dealing with the appearance of the grove," he said.

The town administration has promised to take care of the trees and bushes on its own without assistance from residents. This time, as in previous plantings, residents of the adjacent apartment buildings showed little interest in the undertaking-they didn't even put their heads out on their balconies to see what was going on. "We have been trying to improve this area for three years now. Last year we planted 500 bushes and trees, anticipating that 50 percent would take root, but now we have just a few saplings left standing. We even planted trees on behalf of kids from the adjacent buildings, so that every kid would take care of the tree bearing his name but with no results. People have changed since the crisis of transition years, they've become indifferent, they are burdened down with their own worries, they are not interested in community problems anymore," said Garnik Blbulyan, head of the department of municipal services.

Abovyan Street, which runs through the center of Ijevan, used to be completely green, but now there are shops in place of trees. And the cypresses that remain are seriously ill and have to be cut down. The Ijevan municipality has allocated land on the central streets to businessmen for shops as part of a small- and medium- business promotion project. Garnik Blbulyan assured us that the municipality requires all the necessary authorization papers before any trees are cut down or construction work begins, and that in the place of each tree they remove the developers are required to plant 20 evergreen saplings 1.5-2 meters high on their plots. Thus, the upper segment of Abovyan Street is completely covered in saplings.

Gas is now supplied to 80 % of Ijevan and most of the neighboring villages. That is why the flow of people flow from Ijevan and the surrounding villages into the forest has decreased over the last two or three years. However the town administration is worried that the rise in the price of gas will mean a return of the problem.

"Some fifteen years ago we had areas covered with thick forests, but many regions of Armenia have survived at the expense of our trees. And the rise in gas price will, no doubt, send people back to the forests. Forbid it all you want, but if people have no money to buy gas they will cut down trees. Our forests are in danger again," Blbulyan said.

Under the guidance of Armenian Forests, the Community Environmental Action Groups of Gosh, made up of seventh- to tenth-grade students, have established themselves on the slope behind the Goshavank monastery since last fall and planted trees there. They have hedged in the territory with twigs, sown walnut and hazelnut seeds and cleared some forest areas of dried trees and twigs. The "school eco-groups" organize environmental watch - they keep track of the cleanness of the village streets, exhort the residents to keep the community clean. As an alternative way of recycling, children sow seeds of various trees in used juice cans with the purpose of replanting the saplings later on.

"Children take part in the work with great pleasure. They realize very that that planting greenery on the neighboring slopes is very important since the trees planted now will have a safeguarding function in the future, preventing landslides and protecting settlements from wind and rain," said Mher Sharoyan, the project coordinator for Community Environmental Action Groups.

Another distinguish characteristic of Gosh is the fact that there are yew trees growing here. Yews are among very rare trees registered in the Red Book which environmentalists all over the world devote themselves to protecting. Local residents say that a twig cut from a yew-tree can stay alive for years. Besides, yews are the only trees in the world that produce ozone. In Armenia, yew trees grow in a few places. "There are a few yew trees in the areas adjacent to our village and we take good care of them. Though no one even tries to hurt them because yew-trees are very strong and it is almost impossible to cut them down, even with an axe. Recently we discovered a number of small yew trees next to those giants, and they need serious care because they don't grow in an unnatural environment. Presently we are planning with the kids to fence the areas with yews in to prevent animals from damaging the saplings," Suren Grigoryan, head of the Gosh Action Group, told us.

Within the framework of the Community Environmental Action Groups project, ten communities from Lori, Tavush, Gegharkunik, Kotayk and Vayots Dzor Marzes have been selected. One or more Community Action Groups have been set up in each of the communities. They are preoccupied with water and air pollution, deforestation and garbage-collection. "It is quite possible that in the future we will do the first experiments with waste systematization here in Ijevan. However since it's spring now it is more important to plant greenery," said project coordinator Arman Vermishyan.

They also plan to restore groves in Martuni and Sevan and to new groves in Stepanavan and Jermuk before the project is over in June 2007.

Photos by Onnik Krikorian

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