The subject of “Aravot” online “Face to Face” series of transmission is discussed by the Head of the Association for Sustainable Human Development, Karine Danielyan, and Chairman of “International Scientific-Research Center on Water, Climatic and Recreational Resources” NGO, Trahel Vardanyan.
Aram Abrahamyan – It is known that natural disasters have their human and natural elements. What was the role of the human factor in the tragedy in Tbilisi?
Karine Danielyan – The problem is that human and natural factors are strongly associated, if the man does not take the changing natural factors into account, then they also become human.
A. A. – And What is changed?
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K. D. – The climate is changing, it is not just an average increase in temperature, it is also the destabilization of the climate, the global ecosystem is changing, and we can encounter the most unexpected phenomena, we may have such a heavy rain in June, even snow in summer. The only thing that seems does not impend us is the tsunami as we are far away from the sea. So, these phenomena are strongly associated. As the Georgian experience showed, the urban development did not take this climate change into account.
A. A. – What do you think, what a wrong thing have our friends in Tbilisi done?
K. D. – The fact that they have already told about it that in fact the river Vere was taken into a pipe, and a freeway was built on a part of it, and it appeared that there was a heavy rain, and not only. As a strong wind was blowing, and a landslide has begun, and the water has brought uprooted trees with it and blocked this pipe.
A. A. – What can you say about the human factor in this tragedy?
Trahel Vardanyan – Certainly, the tragedy is a pain to all of us, as well as to those of our compatriots who became victims as a resulted by this disaster. Today, in the whole world, and not only in Armenia or Georgia, these cataclysms have grown overly. A lot of times they say that the media were concealing before, but not now, but it is not true. In fact, today, the studies showed that the man has become powerless in any point on earth to fight against natural disasters. Earlier, the disasters that were observed in here and there, now they have become more in frequency and intensity, in terms of causing more damage. However, the man underlies all of it, human economic activity, in other words, the man is working and fighting to live well and create good conditions, but it may turn out just the opposite.
A. A. – Specifically, the river was blocked, is it bad?
Th. H. – I cannot say and it is hard to give a definite estimation, because today, the facts are being examined, and if we associate it only with the fact of blocking the river, we may be mistaken, but there were others facilities there that should not be.
A. A. – What facilities?
Th. H. – Yes, some facilities were built and the road was closed and there were the kind of construction works in the basin, about which we cannot tell eventually, as we do not have detailed information.
Prepared by Aram ABRAHAMYAN
“Aravot” daily 19.06.2015
