Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Ministry of Environment on December 11 to participate in the discussion of the activity report 2023 of the Ministry.

Deputy Prime Ministers Mher Grigoryan and Tigran Khachatryan, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, Head of the State Supervision Service Romanos Petrosyan, and other officials participated in the discussion.

Minister of Environment Hakob Simidyan and deputy ministers made reports.

It was reported to the Prime Minister that for the first time in the 4120 ha forested areas of "Hayantar" SNOC, biological control works with the use of aviation against pests and diseases were carried out (previously they were carried out using chemical substances).

Environmental programs were implemented in the affected communities in the amount of 38.8% of the planned amount. 226 hectares of reforestation and afforestation works were carried out. An 8 ha nursery was established, 250,000 seedlings were grown with a closed root system.

The financial receipts of “Specially protected nature area” SNOCs, including from the state budget, business activities, donors, etc., were presented. The steps taken in the direction of entrepreneurial activity were presented, in particular, the new starting rental prices, approximated to the market prices, the leases of the plots of land in the recreational zone of the "Dilijan", "Sevan", "Arpi Lake" national parks, the new standards of the lease contracts - adaptation to the needs of people with disabilities, creation of 4 new public beaches of Sevan National Park, organization of tenders for their operation, regulation of entry and exit of Norashen reserve, eco-tourism: new routes and improvement of existing routes. The Prime Minister gave instructions on the operation and effective management of national parks and public beaches.

Regarding the latter, the Prime Minister emphasized. "I want to clearly record that where there is no development dynamics, which is expressed by non-state revenues, the directors cannot continue their work. This is a clear line. If there is no income, then the company is not managed. These are areas with thousands of hectares and, of course, saying management, we mean, so to speak, pro-environmental management. We don't mean that they have to expropriate land, cut down trees, slaughter animals so that incomes increase. It's an economy.

In general, our approaches are as follows. everything must be based on economic logic, because that is what development is all about. This means to put a logic of development, to get out of the logic of conservation. We must have constant growth and this is an important logic," said Nikol Pashinyan.

"Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center" SNOC carried out works in the following areas: hydrometeorological services, environmental monitoring and information provision, implementation of forest state monitoring. 20 automatic meteorological stations were acquired, 9 of them with funds allocated from the state budget. 5 of them were installed in the basin of Lake Sevan, 2 stations were also equipped with sensors for observation of evaporation from the water surface.

Money will be allocated from the state budget for the purchase of 2 automatic air monitoring stations. The stations will be installed in the city of Yerevan, which will enable real-time data collection and analysis, increase data accuracy and reliability.

It was noted that 233 natural monuments are registered in the country, of which 32 have passports. Site adjustment, current state assessment and inventory works are being carried out.

Speaking about the preservation of natural monuments, Nikol Pashinyan said. "Ultimately, the basis of our decision-making should be the interest of Armenia's economic development. In other words, in all places where we can generate economic development and economic growth, not forgetting to meet international standards and ensure continuous investments in our eco-environment, we should go for those solutions. Because it has chain-effect, is linked to economic activity, poverty alleviation and so on. When cultural or historical monuments are damaged, no one is particularly concerned about it. When someone appears next to that monument, the whole of Armenia "attacks", saying “what are you doing?” If we do not take measures, it will not be possible to preserve these monuments for science because they will disappear. A monument is a monument in relation to a person, that is, if there is no person, the monument is not a monument. In all cases, when we perceive a monument in a place where no person should come near and where a person should not be in communication, we destroy that monument."

During the discussion, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan referred to issues related to the Lake Sevan ecosystem, the development of a new management plan for "Sevan" National Park, and the financial income of specially protected natural areas. The measures for the settlement of the problems of Lake Sevan were also presented. 231,732 small fish of Gegharkunik trout were released into the lake. The amount of industrial catch of whitefish was set at 600 tons, and 15 contracts were signed. 919 crabing sets were taken out of the lake, 638 crabs were returned to the lake. The temporary ban on the export of whitefish caviar has been extended, the criminal and administrative responsibility for illegal whitefish hunting has been tightened.

Referring to the efforts to combat illegal fishing from Lake Sevan, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the close cooperation of the Ministry of Environment and the Water Patrol Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. "Here, I consider talking to people, communication with them very important, so that they understand our motivations: what we do, why we do it and who is the final beneficiary of the process. People should understand that they are the ultimate beneficiaries of the process and on the other hand, everything should be done legally," said the Prime Minister.

Regarding the implementation of the new order of fish farms operation, the Prime Minister emphasized. "Obviously, we have to be consistent, we can't go back and forth with our policies, we have to move forward. It's also a question of how much water we waste to produce fish, and what the balance is worth. Let me say something else. if we need fish we can get it from elsewhere, but if we need water we cannot get it from elsewhere. And this is a matter of national security."

Referring to the implemented programs, the officials reported that the 60 measures in the sector were carried out within the framework of the Government's 2021-2026 Action Plan. 6 programs and 42 measureswere implemented with the state budget.

21 sectoral laws, 34 government decisions, 3 decisions of the Prime Minister, 39 departmental acts were adopted. Another 17 bills and 22 government decisions are in circulation.

In particular, the Law "On Eco-Patrol Service", which will enter into force on January 1, 2024, the new Law "On Environmental Impact Assessment and Expertise" and relevant sub-legislative acts, the Law on making changes to the Law "On Protection of the Ozone Layer" were adopted.

From May 2023, for a period of 1 year, the works of updating and upgrading the State Water Cadastre have started.