PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSIAN DISCUSSES NATURE PROTECTION WITH PUBLIC ECOLOGICAL ALLIANCE

ARMENPRESS
July 2

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian met today with members of the Public
Ecological Alliance, an umbrella organization of NGOs dealing with
nature protection issues, to discuss, particularly, the basic questions
relating to Armenia’s sustainable development, urban and ecological
situation in Yerevan, the problems of Lake Sevan, preservation of
Armenia’s biological diversity and special wildlife reserves.

The government department for public relations and information told
Armenpress that representatives of non-governmental organizations
pointed out that all these problems should be reviewed from the
perspective of sustainable development concept and solutions should
be sought within the frameworks of Armenia’s sustainable development
commitments.

They emphasized also that the Armenian Sustainable National Council
set up by the government’s decision in 2002 should step up its work.

After presenting the entire gamut of ecological problems
representatives of non-governmental organizations thanked the prime
minister for his consistent attention to ecological problems and
his willingness to meet with them to discuss their solutions. They
said the situation in many sectors is alarming because of infective
cooperation between the government and NGOs in the past.

Representatives of the Alliance agreed that these problems could be
resolved through system changes, by strengthening rule of law and
putting the nature management on scientifically based grounds.

By summarizing the meeting Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian said he
is too concerned over these problems. He stressed the active work of
the National Sustainable Development Council saying it is important
for institutionalizing their cooperation and making it more effective.

He promised to conduct regular meetings of the Council and to jointly
define its agenda.