REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT
19.07.2024
Under the Leadership of Deputy Minister Ara Mkrtchyan, the Problems of the Penetration of Brown Bears into the Habitats Were Discussed

Today, under the leadership of Ara Mkrtchyan, Deputy Minister of Environment, a meeting of the working group was held for the purpose of studying the human-wildlife conflict: to highlight the problems that have arisen, develop ways to solve them and coordinate the implementation processes, to discuss the recent studies of brown bear individuals’ behavior and the ways to mitigate threats to the residents and their economies in individual settlements.
After greeting the partners, Deputy Minister Ara Mkrtchyan informed that the problem of penetration of brown bears into the habitats continues to be the focus of the relevant specialists of the Ministry of Environment. The studies of the behavior of animals, the calculations of the damage done to the farms are continued, the international experience of solving the problem is also being studied. Andranik Gyonjian, Researcher at the Zoology of Vertebrates Laboratory of the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydrology of the National Academy of Sciences of the RA, presented numerical summaries on the attacks registered in recent years: the areas of the attacks, the period and the extent of the damage.
Let us remind that as a mid-term solution to the problem of bear attacks on households, the ministry installed electric shepherds in Shatin and Hermon Settlements, Yeghegis Community, Vayots Dzor Region. Proposals for solving the problem were presented by the participants of the meeting. Deputy Minister Ara Mkrtchyan informed his partners that the proposal to continue the researches and study the behavior of the animals over a longer period of time will also be discussed.