Reports on Environment and Urban Development for Alaverdy

GEO ALAVERDI: ENVIRONMENT AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

More than half of the rural communities of the region have almost 500 residents and are located far fromAlaverdi and the center of the Marz – Vanadzor. The main poverty factor in these rural communities is the under developed infrastructure and the distance from the urban areas. Another factor that contributes to the poverty levels of the area is the large number of villages with population less than 500 people, where the low availability of educational and health related services is low because of the same weakly developed infrastructures. Besides the fact that the region is well-known for its industrial capacities, the agriculture has also been developed here: the 24% of the whole number of cattle and 25% of agricultural cultivated lands in the Marz are in Alaverdi. Due to the dislocation and spread of the rural communities of the region from the highland zones (Atan, Ahnidzor, Shamut) to zones of sub-tropical climate (Alaverdi, Neghots, Shnogh, Qarkop, Chochkan), all the directions of the agriculture develop equally, including the cattle breeding, horticultures, tobacco production and grapes. Due to this the percentage of use of agricultural lands in the area is quite high (85%). For Tumanyan region, the factors contributing to the poverty are as follows: high dependence of the social activity of urban communities from the • large industrial facilities (in case if the activity of the latter is terminated, the whole population of Alaverdi, Akhtala and Shamlukh will become unemployed), Unfavorable environmental condition, • Under developed infrastructures in rural communities with population • less than 500 people, especially the obsolete and destroyed conditions of the local roads. 3. Vulnerability to natural and technogenic disasters The fl ood rains in Alaverdi are usual. Before such levels of precipitation, resulting in sludge runoff from the highlands, snow-melt had signi fi cant harms to the city by fl ooding certain sections thereof. Taking into account the continuously existing hazards from the fl ood rains, a number of storm sewers and water collection systems were constructed in the city in 1970: Khudyakov street storm sewer - 1973, length – 925,0m, width 2,2m, depth 1. 2,2m. Jravazan street storm sewer - 1978, length - 975,5m, width -1,8m, depth 2. - 1,6m. Debed district storm sewer - 1970, length - 310,0m, width - 1,8m, depth 3. - 1,6m. Baghramyan district storm sewer - 1975, length - 345,0m, width - 2,4m, 4. depth - 2,0–2,6m.

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CHAPTER 4. IMPACT OF THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Environmental Knowledge for Change