“Dilijan” national park’s guard part will be given to a private protection company to conduct guarding efficiently. “We should take business out of Armenia’s forests. Armenia’s forests are not for entrepreneurship, from the perspective of timber. This is a fundamental question and currently we discuss also the question of altering the management system to form a single system of forest management”: informed Artsvik Minasyan.
We asked about the issue of letting extra water pour out of lake Sevan. Asked whether an intrigue is present there, forasmuch as the ministry is against, but the government decides to let the water, Artsvik Minasyan answered: “I do not know what you mean by saying intrigue. You know that the legislature on lake Sevan provides an opportunity to implement a complementary water intake. The law provides the bases – pressing economic need or emergency situation. Our opinion has been based on the initial option when it was not presented in a separate plan, we were saying – it should be presented in accordance with the law. We will never be against of letting 100 million liters, we have told its substantiation should be in accord with the law. We have already given the ecological evaluation which is required by the government during the presentation of legislative projects. From an ecological perspective, it is natural that additional water intake should be regarded as a negative effect. I am surprised, what is odd there?”
We wanted to find out whether there is an economic necessity currently present and if not, whether they are going to still take the water, the minister replied: “I did not say that. The legal grounds should be presented precisely. We have submitted our viewpoint to the government, the government has made a decision. I am obliged to implement and will implement the decision if it is accepted, as the member of the government.”
Artsvik Minasyan informed that they are to conduct prevention operations in case of bad scenarios, i.e. bad weather conditions. As stated by the minister, it is a fact that the reservoirs of Armenia have water deficiency: “A need for supplementary water demand is in place, this is a fact as well.” Asked whether the Ministry of Nature Protection cannot have an influence on the decision of the government, Artsvik Minasyan replied: “What do you think? Is the Ministry of Nature Protection to make a decision instead of all ministers of the government? No. Consequently, the minister of nature protection is one of the government members, we have submitted our professional approach to a nature protection, we have not rejected the 100 million liters intake. We have said that its substantiation should be sufficient enough for the public to be more convinced of the necessity in professional frameworks. We are convinced ourselves that an additional water intake necessity is in place, inasmuch as the data we receive from the territories show it.”
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
