Reports on Environment and Urban Development for Alaverdy

GEO ALAVERDI: ENVIRONMENT AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 5. POLICY INTERVENTIONS AND INSTRUMENTS

1. The authorities of environmental management in the local self- government The policy and the legislation of the environmental (nature protection) sector of Armenia were mainly formed and improved for the last 15 years. According to Article 10 of the RA Constitution, the State shall provide for the protection and restoration of the environment, as well as the reasonable use of natural resources. Armenia actively participates in the processes on international cooperation, has signed and rati fi ed a number of international and European conventions, with the protocols emanating thereof. In the framework of those international agreements and conventions, Armenia aims at reduction and elimination of negative impacts on the human health and the environment, eliminate the extended levels of air pollution, alleviate the negative consequences of global climate change, protect biodiversity, provide for the necessary volumes of renewable natural resources and enforce conditions contributing to natural balance, ensure reasonable and ef fi cient use of non- renewable natural resources. The issues of protection and management of the environment and the natural resources of the Republic of Armenia, exist in a certain extent also in Lori Marz. Those are: effective management of forests, collection of domestic wastes and management of hazardous industrial wastes, ef fi cient management, use of water resources, prevention of soil degradation, reduction of anthropogenic factors contributing to deserti fi cation, restoration and ef fi cient use of meadows. During the last several years, in the process of improving the legislative framework, signi fi cant volume of work has been done for the solution of the mentioned issues: e.g. a number of strategically important legal acts and programs have been adopted. Some of them are: the Forest Code (2005) and the RA National Program of Forests (2005), the RA Law “On National Water Policy and Principles” (2005), the RA Law “On Wastes” (2004), the RA Law on “Protected Areas” (2006), the RA Law “On Environmental Control” (2005), the RA Law “On Substances Depleting the Ozone Layer” (2006), the RA Law “On the National Water Program” (2006), the RALaw “On Hunting and Maintenance of Hunting Economies” (2007), etc. The environmental legislation has envisaged a certain framework of actions for the Marz Administration. According to Point 1.20 of the RA Presidential Decree NH-728, dated 6 th of May 1997, “On Public Management in the Marzes of the Republic of Armenia”, the Marzpet (Governor or Community Leader) shall implement the following actions in the sectors of nature protection and environmental management:

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CHAPTER 5. POLICY INTERVENTIONS AND INSTRUMENTS

Environmental Knowledge for Change