Minister: A culture of alternative and renewable energy is being  actively introduced in villages of Armenia

ArmInfo.An alternative and   renewable energy culture is being actively introduced in the villages  of Armenia, the Minister of Territorial Administration and  Infrastructures Suren Papikyan said this on July 18 at a government  meeting, answering the question of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan  about the possibility of using alternative sources against the  background of yesterday's events in Ijevan.

On the evening of July 17 in Ijevan, Tavush region of Armenia, a  group of sawmill workers blocked an interstate route leading to  Georgia. The demonstrators demanded that they, as before, be allowed  to cut wood. The police tried to push them off the highway, but the  protesters began throwing stones at law enforcement officers. As a  result of the clashes there are victims on both sides. In particular,  14 people were hospitalized.

According to Suren Papikyan, the introduction of renewable, including  solar energy sources can be a real alternative to firewood. Suren  Papikyan stressed that even the growth of solar panels on the roofs  of villagers' houses is visually obvious. At the same time, the  minister continued, work is continuing to provide non-gasified  villages of the republic with hot water at the expense of renewable  energy sources.  As for the fears of residents of Ijevan to remain  without work, then, as the minister noted, today there are 200  vacancies in various programs implemented in the Tavush region,  including in the field of road construction. One company alone-  "Araratdorstroy" is ready to employ several dozen people.  In turn,  the Minister of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia Erik  Grigoryan stressed that various grant programs are currently being  implemented, aimed at creating business opportunities for people  living near forest areas. Projects of this kind are being implemented  in Dilijan, on the territory adjacent to the Khosrov reserve. Several  programs are being implemented in the Syunik region, which are aimed  at the development of solar energy, the creation of a local  agricultural market and others. Starting next week, the project  starts in the Artik region. Thus, as Erik Grigoryan continued,  through the socio-economic development of the regions an attempt is  being made to reduce pressure on forests.  It should be noted that  according to the information of the organization "Armforest", since  2004, 31.7 thousand hectares of land have been illegally cut down in  Armenia. At the same time, legally for the specified period of time  490 thousand cubic meters of wood were cut down, more than 1 million  cubic meters of timber were sold.