ATP Leadership Provides Update on Forest Fires in Armenia

ARMENIA TREE PROJECT
400 W Cummings Park, Suite 3900
Woburn, MA 01801 USA
Tel: (617) 926-TREE 
Web: www.armeniatree.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 18, 2017

ATP Leadership Provides Update on Forest Fires in Armenia

We were saddened to witness the forest fires in the Khosrov Forest Reserve
and in Artavan, Vayots Dzor on 13 August 2017. Unfortunately, our country
lost many hectares of old growth forests, with estimates ranging from 2,500
hectares to 10,000 hectares. In addition to the benefits to tourism and
other ecosystem values of these 600-year-old forests, we lost a large stand
of 150-year-old juniper trees, as well as habitat for the animals living in
these forests.  

Information is still being gathered by organizations and governmental
agencies involved in the recovery effort. We expect to know more in the
coming days and clarify the extent of the losses, and hopefully identify the
causes of the fires, as well as the action plan to prevent such disasters in
the future. 

There is an ongoing risk in Armenia to forest fires, especially in summers
when temperatures are hot and the air and soil is dry. This threat is
further exacerbated by climate change which has caused higher temperatures
and more erratic weather patterns including drought in summer. We often see
smaller fires, but these have been the largest in recent memory.

Of course the issue raises questions about Armenia's capacity to fight such
fires or withstand other natural disasters. The weekend events have revealed
a lack of resources and infrastructure to fight massive fires, though the
men and women deployed to fight the fires are to be commended for their hard
work and bravery to bring the disaster under control. 

We also received technical support from Russia in the form of water
distribution and a firefighting air vehicle, which helped disaster
management workers to control the spread of the fires. Clearly there is more
room for improvement and capacity building, and we would like to see this
become more of a national priority to protect our natural heritage. 

None of the sites were planted by ATP, but we have already begun to take
action and reach out to the major stakeholders involved in the recovery and
future prevention efforts. These include the Ministry of Nature Protection,
World Wildlife Fund, Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and
Cultural Assets, Caucasus Nature Fund, and the United Nations. All of the
parties are interested in coordination and a proactive approach to
preventing similar disasters in the future. 

Here are a few initial steps that ATP has taken: 

. We are visiting our planting sites to assess any areas of risk and ideas
to prevent the outbreak or spread of fire

. We have extended a hand to partners working in or around Armenia's forest
reserves, to assist with monitoring for threats

. We are already developing educational materials for the public to learn
about threats and think twice about practices that can cause forest fires

Protecting our green infrastructure is a team effort. At this stage, we
wanted to let people know that we're aware of the threat, we are concerned
and our experts are talking to the appropriate parties to determine an
action plan for solutions.

Carolyn Mugar, ATP Founder
Jeanmarie Papelian, Executive Director
Lucineh Kassarjian, Country Director