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Herding Controversy: Environmentalists warn against leasing grazing
land to Iranians
http://www.armenianow.com/society/43487/syunik_province_mohammad_reisi_ecololur
SOCIETY | 14.02.13 | 14:51
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow
By GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
The possible lease of grazing lands in Armenian's southern Syunik
province to neighboring Iran continues to be a matter of concern among
environmentalists and some politicians, who held an act of protest
Thursday in front of the government building demanding to annul the
deal.
The Ecolur environmental NGO posted two documents on its site earlier
this month, one of which is titled `Memorandum of understanding
between Iran's Eastern Atrapatakan (Eastern Azerbaijan) province and
RA Syunik province'. The NGO especially highlights Point 3 in this
document signed by the governors of Syunik and Eastern Atrapatakan on
July, 2012: `The Iranian side has expressed its willingness to use the
pastures and agricultural farming lands.' The second document was
signed on January 15, 2013, during the Armenian delegation's visit to
the Eastern Atrapatakan and is called an Agreement. In particular, it
becomes clear that Iranians want to rent 50,000 hectares of grazing
land for the minimum of 10 years and pay $25 per hectare of land per
month. An additional 2,000 ha would be given as settlement area.
Wednesday Iranian Ambassador in Armenia Mohammad Raeisi told the press
that no lease agreement has been signed between Syunik and Iran's
Eastern Azerbaijani provinces concerning the Syunik pastures. He said
the issue has to be discussed, and should an agreement be signed, the
parliaments of both countries have to approve it.
During the Thursday cabinet meeting an act of protest was held in
front of the government building during which members of Hayazn Union
(nationalist organization) submitted a letter for the government
consideration with their strong concerns over the potential deal.
Hayazn press secretary Armen Hovhannisyan told the press that a deal
of such scale and content `creates a set of threats in terms of
national security, demography, environmental protection and other.'
`From the environmental point of view this deal will have catastrophic
consequences, because in an area where sheep breeding is the main type
of livestock husbandry, the grass layer vanishes shortly, recovering
it takes huge investment, and natural recovery takes 500-1,000 years,'
says Hovhannisyan adding that the deal will not be of serious economic
value to compensate for the damage.
Environmentalist Silva Adamyan says besides the environmental issues
there are also more disturbing national security concerns.
`I remember how the Azerbaijanis were quietly taking control of Syunik
during the soviet years. We have liberated it, and now we want to give
it to them again? Can't we really understand that it is the same
Azeris - citizens of Iran - who would be coming back to Syunik, bring
their families, and so the blood shed for those lands would turn out
to be for nothing? It appears we are going back to where we started,'
says Adamyan.
land to Iranians
http://www.armenianow.com/society/43487/syunik_province_mohammad_reisi_ecololur
SOCIETY | 14.02.13 | 14:51
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow
By GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
The possible lease of grazing lands in Armenian's southern Syunik
province to neighboring Iran continues to be a matter of concern among
environmentalists and some politicians, who held an act of protest
Thursday in front of the government building demanding to annul the
deal.
The Ecolur environmental NGO posted two documents on its site earlier
this month, one of which is titled `Memorandum of understanding
between Iran's Eastern Atrapatakan (Eastern Azerbaijan) province and
RA Syunik province'. The NGO especially highlights Point 3 in this
document signed by the governors of Syunik and Eastern Atrapatakan on
July, 2012: `The Iranian side has expressed its willingness to use the
pastures and agricultural farming lands.' The second document was
signed on January 15, 2013, during the Armenian delegation's visit to
the Eastern Atrapatakan and is called an Agreement. In particular, it
becomes clear that Iranians want to rent 50,000 hectares of grazing
land for the minimum of 10 years and pay $25 per hectare of land per
month. An additional 2,000 ha would be given as settlement area.
Wednesday Iranian Ambassador in Armenia Mohammad Raeisi told the press
that no lease agreement has been signed between Syunik and Iran's
Eastern Azerbaijani provinces concerning the Syunik pastures. He said
the issue has to be discussed, and should an agreement be signed, the
parliaments of both countries have to approve it.
During the Thursday cabinet meeting an act of protest was held in
front of the government building during which members of Hayazn Union
(nationalist organization) submitted a letter for the government
consideration with their strong concerns over the potential deal.
Hayazn press secretary Armen Hovhannisyan told the press that a deal
of such scale and content `creates a set of threats in terms of
national security, demography, environmental protection and other.'
`From the environmental point of view this deal will have catastrophic
consequences, because in an area where sheep breeding is the main type
of livestock husbandry, the grass layer vanishes shortly, recovering
it takes huge investment, and natural recovery takes 500-1,000 years,'
says Hovhannisyan adding that the deal will not be of serious economic
value to compensate for the damage.
Environmentalist Silva Adamyan says besides the environmental issues
there are also more disturbing national security concerns.
`I remember how the Azerbaijanis were quietly taking control of Syunik
during the soviet years. We have liberated it, and now we want to give
it to them again? Can't we really understand that it is the same
Azeris - citizens of Iran - who would be coming back to Syunik, bring
their families, and so the blood shed for those lands would turn out
to be for nothing? It appears we are going back to where we started,'
says Adamyan.