Armenia expects for the   visit of US Forest Service team to restore  burnt forests.

ArmInfo. Next week, a team of the US Forest Service for the restoration of burnt forests will visit the village, which will render appropriate assistance to the Ministry of  Nature Protection of Armenia and employees of the state reserve "Khosrov Forest".  This was announced by US Ambassador Richard Mills on August 29 during a meeting with the Minister of Nature Protection Artsvik Minasyan.  

The meeting was attended by representatives of the American  diplomatic mission, responsible for economic, trade and environmental  issues, as well as the heads of the relevant units of the Ministry of  Nature Protection of RA.  According to the press service of the  Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia, Artsvik Minasyan thanked  the US government for consistent assistance in resolving  environmental issues, as well as extensive support in this area.  Minasyan presented the situation in connection with forest fires in  Armenia, told about the ongoing preventive measures in this  direction, as well as the forthcoming plans, detailing the process of  the reforms held in the Ministry. 

Noting the importance of participation of the international community  in the preservation of the state reserve "Khosrov Forest", the  minister emphasized the assistance of the US government in the  restoration of burnt forests and in combating forest fires. Touching  upon the reforms carried out in the ministry, the head of the  environmental department said that the Ministry of Nature Protection  of Armenia adopted a policy based on the principles of sustainable  development and the development of an ecosystem approach to address  environmental issues. Ambassador Mills, in turn, welcomed the reforms  in the field. In addition to the expected visit of the US Forest  Service team during the meeting, it was also agreed to visit another  expert group to increase Armenia's fire prevention capabilities. 

The interlocutors also discussed issues of increasing the capacity of  the ministry, effective management of the country's water resources,  in particular, programs funded by the US USAID. Ambassador Mills drew  special attention to the mechanism "nature-external debt" (which will  enable Armenia to channel certain funds within the framework of  bilateral credit obligations to address environmental problems, ed.),  Presented by the minister. The sides confirmed their readiness to  expand cooperation. 

Earlier, during the meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Karen  Karapetyan, the US Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills expressed  regret over the large fire in the territory of the state reserve  "Khosrov Forest". According to him, in the United States, not by  hearsay they are aware of the difficulties in the fight against such  elements. Mills noted that the US embassy maintains a connection with  the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Nature  Protection of the Republic of Armenia in order to provide technical  and expert assistance to the departments in eliminating the  consequences of the fire.