Pan-Armenian Environmental Front has expressed its concern over the condition of forests in Tavush marz, Armenia.
The activists say in a statement that on November 13 Pan-Armenian Environmental Front and the Armenian Extreme Club visited the forests of Tavush. They revealed numerous felled trees and trucks without number plates. Most of the drivers lacked permits for felling. The activists think that the current situation is the result of the lack of proper control in the field of forest protection and management.
Earlier Head of EcoLur NGO Inga Zarafyan told ArmInfo the deforestation in Armenia exceeds the official data 70-80 times. Environmentalists have repeatedly expressed their concern over felling of the trees growing on the slopes, because it can cause landslide and land erosion.
According to the surveys of GIZ, forests of the republic make up 332,333 ha or 11.1%. By official data, in 2013 a total of 2031 trees were illegally felled in Armenia (versus 1860 in 2012).