Nazeli Vardanyan, the head of the Hayantarner NGO, is concerned that Armenia will face a problem with a lack of land in the next few years while implementing forest projects. “That is why I suggested at the time that a change in the category of forest lands be made through a law, by the National Assembly and not by the Cabinet,” N. Vardanyan said during a conversation with www.aravot.am. Talking about the violations revealed by the Control Chamber in the field of forest management that 40% of state investments had been used inefficiently, Ms. Vardanyan said, “I don’t know what money the state gave. Last year’s budget accounted for only 80% of the foresters’ salaries, so in order to pay the other 20%, they had to cut trees. The budget is drawn up like this, to begin with – it suggests the possibility of cutting trees to pay people their salaries.”VOICE217
