Forests in Armenia have been increasingly affected by fires over the recent years, according to Ruben Petrosyan, the chief forest officer of Armenia.

According to him, 90% of the fires are caused by burning meadows.

“Some 810 hectares were burnt in 2010 and another 470 hectares – in 2011; this year, a total of 187 hectares of land have been subjected to fire,” he told reporters on Monday.

Petrosyan said they are now conducting preparatory work, adding that this year may be risky too in case of not enough snowfalls.

He considered the population’s awareness raising the weakest point.

“Last year, we had 200 posters placed across the republic and some 1,200 sent to the schools and communities. The activities carried out cannot be of course considered enough. We warn that burning meadows is prohibited, not mentioning at the same how it is punished,” he said, adding that it is normally difficult to catch the person responsible for a forest fire.

Forests cover some 11% of Armenia’s total land area.

Sergey Hayrapetyan, the chief of a fire management and technical security department at the Ministry of Emergency Situations, said the prevention of fires is gaining more urgency in the country.

“Our Ministry launches training exercises in Armenia’s forest-rich areas every year. A working group was set up under the minister’s decree earlier in the year, and over 10 interested agencies elaborated a joint forest fire management project,” he said.

Petrosyan noted that they are now actively collaborating with the emergency ministry and have two rapid reaction groups in the cities of Goris and Kapan (Syunik region).

“The Syunik region used to be highly prone to fires. It is already two years we have had no fire, with the rapid reaction groups managing to extinguish all the blazes that break out,” he said.

Petrosyan expressed hope that the other forest economies too, will be soon equipped with necessary supplies. He said that despite their poorer quality, the forest-lands have not decreased in number.

“While we used to have rich forests, they have grown sparser now,” he noted.

Armenia has a total of 19 forest economies on its territory.