UDC: 502.1(479.25)

CURRENT PROTECTION STATUS AND THE MAIN PROBLEMS OF “DILIJAN” NATIONAL PARK

H. Sayadyan, Gh. Barakat State Agrarian University of Armenia

Keywords: “Dilijan” National Park, protection status, logging damage, cattle damage, local communities

ong ago when humans came to the light, earth and its obtainable natural resources were more Lthan his needs. But with the huge increase of population and the extreme and unsustainable exploitation of the natural resources earth cannot be more our unlimited granter. The over-use has resulted in degradation of natural systems and loss of components of biodiversity. Whereas yearly 16 million hectares of natural forests are destroyed leading to the loss of more than 10% of the species around the world in 2020 (The national study of biodiversity in Syria, 1998). Thus issues relating to deterioration of natural resources, and necessity of protection of biological ecosystems and the ways of its efficiency increasing with the aim of ensuring sustainable use of frontline forestry ecosystem are recognized as being of crucial importance as we enter the new century. The overuse has resulted “Dilijan” National Park (NP) is situated in the Small Caucasus, in the northeast of mountainous in degradation of natural Armenia. It extends across the slopes of Pambak, Areguni, Miapor, Ijevan and Halab mountains, at systems and loss altitudes ranging from 1070m to 2900m. It is well known for its forest landscapes, medicinal mineral of components water springs, natural and historical-architectural monuments (Reserves of the USSR Caucasus of biodiversity Reserves, 1990). The NP was established as a state reserve in 1958 according to the Decree N: 341 of the Board of Ministers ofArmenian SSR.

The main reason to establish the reserve was the recognition of the need to protect the mezophile oak and beech forests, such relict species asTaxus baccata (yew), and Caucasian rhododendron dating from the tertiary era (Khanjyan, 2004). According to the Decree N: 920 of the Government of the Republic of Armenia (RA) dated May 11, 2002 Dilijan state reserve was transformed to “Dilijan” National Park state non-commercial organization. It is under the direct auspice of the Ministry of Nature Protection since 1999.

39 Dilijan NP

The Geographic Distribution of “Dilijan” NP

The goal of this research work is to study the current protection status of “Dilijan” NP and spotlight on the main problems. In this study two points are taken into consideration: the logging damage and the cattle damage. Toattain this goal a field research was set, the number of the studied plots is 354, these plots are fixed-radius circular areas, and the radius is nine meters. The plots were defined into 12 groups; which cover the whole Dilijan National Park; every group consists of 29-30 plots and the distance between the plot centers is 100m.

For the implementation of this work two scales have been prepared. The first scale to define the logging damage and the second one to define the cattle damage as it is shown in the subsequent tables. The logging damage in the studied plots is defined into five classes according to the percentage of the harvested stems inside the plot as it is shown in Table1.

Table 1. Logging Damage Scale

№ Stems Harvested by Humans, % class 0 (1-33) (34-66) (67-99) The main reason to establish the reserve 100 was the recognition of the need to protect the mezophile oak The cattle damage in the studied plots is defined into five classes according to the percentage of the and beech forests, such plot area impacted by big herbivore mammals as it is shown in Table2. relict species as Taxus baccata (yew), and Caucasian rhododendron dating Table 2. Cattle Damage Scale from the tertiary era Plot Area Impacted by Big Herbivore № class Mammals, % 0 (1-33) (34-66)

The results of the 354 plots according to the logging damage scale was: around 40% of the studied plots have logging damage in different proportions (Table3).

Table 3. Logging Damage

Class Plot Number % 213 60.17 1 118 33.33 19 5.37 3 1.13 0 0

The local communities till now cut trees within the NP areas and the purposes of cutting are as for sale (income source) or for household use (source of energy). The use of timber by the local 40 communities as a fuel wood is considered the main source of energy for warming, heating, cooking and for other household purposes. And in many cases wood is not the main source but the only source of energy for all household purposes. Because of the lack of the standby sources and the low standards of living more than half of the population living in communities adjacent to Dilijan national park is poor ( “Dilijan” NP Management Plan, 2007). Thus, electricity is too expensive to use as energy source and natural gas is not accessible to everyone.

But it is worth mention to that even if local communities have natural gas, they continue to use timber as fuel wood because it is cheaper or even free if they gather it themselves from the NP.And in this case public awareness level of the importance of protection and the danger of the continuation of the illegal logging plays a major role. Most of the local community leaders in the neighborhood of Dilijan National Park prove that the territory of the park is often used for pastures, including the forested one. In addition, the transit roads leading to the summer pastures also pass through the territory of the National Park.

Table 4. Cattle Size in Dilijan NP (Compiled from the Data Given in Dilijan” NP Management Plan, 2007)

Community Heads of Cattle Heads of Small Cattle Dilijan urban 2000 1100 Teghut 500 100 Haghartsin 700 120 Gosh 500 200 Khachardzan 450 200 Aghavnavak 200 100

The number of the cattle in the neighborhood of Dilijan National Park is indeed high and threats the protection status of the NP.According to the Ministry of Nature Protection statistics there are more than 2000 cattle and about 1100 small cattle only in Dilijan urban community, 500 heads of cattle and about 100 heads of small cattle are kept in Teghut community. About 700 heads of cattle and 120 heads of small cattle is taken from Haghartsin community to the remote pastures every year, the inhabitants of Gosh community possess about 500 heads of cattle and about 200 heads of small The logging damage cattle, the inhabitants of Khachardzan community keep about 450 heads of cattle and about 200 in the studied plots heads of small cattle the inhabitants of Aghavnavak community possess about 200 heads of cattle is defined into five classes and about 100 heads of small cattle (“Dilijan” NP Management Plan, 2007). according to the percentage of the harvested stems The lack, even the absence of nearby community pastures, plus the unawareness of stipulated inside the plot restrictions on grazing in the territories of protected areas, results in grazing the cattle in the territory of the NP.The field work regarding cattle damage produced the results presented below. The data shows that about 20% of the studied plots are impacted by big herbivore mammals. The cattle damage can be direct by the leading the cattle to grazing within the NP areas on one hand or by harvesting the grass from the NP areas on the other, whereas these patches for harvesting cover serious areas within the NP and they gradually expand at the expense of the nearby forests. On the basis of the analyses of the current protection status of Dilijan NP, using field work data and statistics by the Ministry of Nature Protection, in addition to the personal impressions during the wandering about the NP areas, one can clearly say after six years of establishment of Dilijan as a National Park the level of the protection status is still low. There are many serious problems, which should be taken into consideration: first of all, illegal logging; cattle damage within the protection areas; and extension of pastures within the forest territories.

Table 5. Cattle Damage Class Plot Number % 029081.92 14813.56 2154.24 3 1 0.28 400

Local communities cause harm to the NP, they use the NP areas to feed their cattle and obtain fuel wood in most cases for households as a source of energy or for sale to earn their livings. The main reasons behind what have been said are: 41 ? low standards of living of the local communities; ? lack of standby sources of energy for houses purposes; ? lack of standby sources of fodder for the cattle; ? low level of public awareness in terms of the importance of the protection of the NP areas, and the danger of the continuation of illegal logging and cattle damage within the NP areas.

Standing up to the above-mentioned problems and improving the protection status in Dilijan NP should be carried out in several directions:

? Improvement of the standard of living in communities and creation of new jobs. · Search for the standby sources of energy to decrease the use of the fuel wood by the communities and decreasing the pressure on the forest, as it was mentioned some communities are supplied with gas which is a good indicator but the number of the people who are not provided with gas is large and they should be provided with gas as quickly as possible. · Monitoring the number of cattle within the NP and search for standby sources for fodder at acceptable prices. · Increase the public awareness level of the importance of the protection of natural resources in general and particularly in Dilijan NP,and introducing the concept of sustainable development.

REFERENCES:

The National Study of Biodiversity in Syrian Arabic Republic, Damascus, Syria. Ministry of Environment, National Biodiversity Unit NBU and UNEP.1998-367 P.(InArabic).

Khanjyan, N.S. (2004). Specially Protected NatureAreas ofArmenia. Yerevan.

Ministry of Nature Protection, Dilijan National Park Management Plan (2007-2011), Yerevan 2007.

There are many serious Reserves of the USSR Caucasus Reserves. Moscow, 1990. problems, which should be taken into consideration: first of all, illegal logging; cattle damage within the protection areas; and extension of pastures within the forest territories СОВРЕМЕННОЕ СОСТОЯНИЕ ОХРАНЫ И ПРОБЛЕМЫ ДИЛИЖАНСКОГО НАЦИОНАЛЬНОГО ПАРКА

О.Я. Саядян, Г.Баракат Государственный аграрный университет Армении

В данной статье рассматривается современный статус охраны Дилижанского национального парка, созданного как государственный заповедник в 1958 г. для защиты дубовых и буковых лесов и их реликтовых видов – тиса (Taxus baccata L.) и Кавказского рододендронa (Rhododendron caucasicum Pall.), датирующихся с третичной эры. В 2002 г.государственный заповедник был преобразован в Дилижанский национальный парк. Авторы останавливаются на проблемах защиты статуса парка после 6-и лет со дня его преобразования в национальный.

¸ÆÈÆæ²ÜƸÆÈÆæ²ÜÆ ²²¼¶²ÚÆܼ¶²ÚÆÜ ää²ðÎƲðÎÆ ää²Ðä²ÜàôÂڲܲÐä²ÜàôÂÚ²Ü Üܺðβºðβ ììÆÖ²ÎÀÆÖ²ÎÀ ºìºì ÐÆØܲÊܸÆðܺðÀÐÆØܲÊܸÆðܺðÀ

Ð.Ú. ê³Û³¹Û³Ý, Ô.´³ñ³ù³ï 42 г۳ëï³ÝÇ å»ï³Ï³Ý ³·ñ³ñ³ÛÇÝ Ñ³Ù³Éë³ñ³Ý Ðá¹í³ÍáõÙ Ý»ñϳ۳óí³Í ¿ ¸ÇÉÇç³ÝÇ ³½·³ÛÇÝ å³ñÏÇ Ý»ñϳ íÇ׳ÏÁ, áñÁ ÑÇÙݳ¹ñí»É ¿ 1958 Ã.-ÇÝ áõ Ýå³ï³Ï áõÝ»ñ å³Ñå³Ý»Éáõ ϳÕÝáõ ¨ ѳ׳ñ»Ýáõ ³Ýï³éÝ»ñÁ, ÇÝãå»ë ݳ¨ »ññáñ¹³Ï³Ý ųٳݳϳßñç³ÝÇ ³ÛÝåÇëÇ é»ÉÇÏï³ÛÇÝ ï»ë³ÏÝ»ñ, ÇÝãåÇëÇù »Ý Ï»ÝÇÝ (Taxus baccata) ¨ ÏáíϳëÛ³Ý éá¹á¹»Ý¹ñáÝÁ (Rhododendron caucasicum Pall.): ²Ý¹ñ³¹³ñÓ ¿ ϳï³ñíáõÙ í»ñçÇÝ 6 ï³ñÇÝ»ñÇ ÁÝóóùáõÙ ¸ÇÉÇç³ÝÇ ³½·³ÛÇÝ å³ñÏ Ñ³Ûï³ñ³ñí³Í ï³ñ³ÍùáõÙ ³éϳ ·É˳íáñ ÑÇÙݳËݹÇñÝ»ñÇÝ: 2002 Ã.-ÇÝ ¸ÇÉÇç³ÝÇ å»ï³Ï³Ý ³ñ·»ÉáóÁ í»ñ³÷áËí»ó ¸ÇÉÇç³ÝÇ ³½·³ÛÇÝ å³ñÏÇ: лÕÇݳÏÝ»ñÁ å³ñÏÇ` ³½·³ÛÇÝÇ í»ñ³÷áËÙ³Ý ûñí³ÝÇó 6 ï³ñÇ Ñ»ïá ϳݷ »Ý ³é»É å³ñÏÇ Ï³ñ·³íÇ׳ÏÇ å³Ñå³ÝÙ³Ý ÑÇÙݳËݹÇñÝ»ñÇ íñ³: