The next session of the Public Council alongside the RA Minister of Nature Protection was convened under the chairmanship of RA Minister of Nature Protection Artsvik Minasyan. At the suggestion of the NGOs involved in the Council presented the preliminary monitoring results over causes and effects of wildfire detected in “Khosrov Forest” state reserve on August 12.    Head of Division of Management of Specially Protected Areas of Nature and Arboretums of the RA MNP Bioresources Management Agency Aram Aghasyan, submitting the chronology and spread of wildfire, the size effect on damaged areas, assured that there are many unaffected sites, which were not only animal shelters but also will contribute to rapid biodiversity restoration. Unburnt areas comprise 365ha of a total area of 2200 hectares. According to the speaker, rapid fire spread due to the wind did not cause damage to root system of plants and 20 days after the wildfire a good deal of cases on propagation of vegetation were revealed, however the final extent of fire may be assessed only next spring. Legal Advisor to the RA Minister of Nature Protection Areg Gharabegyan illustrated analysis of satellite imagery as well as pre-assessment data over researches of Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Working Group of the United States Forest Service (USFS) in Artavan forests. They revealed vegetation recovery and superficial thermal damage to the topsoil, which enables to envisage swift restoration of the flora, excluding juniper tree species and there were not found essential losses of the fauna. The working group will submit the entire official conclusion and proposals to the Governments of two states later. The speaker briefed the members of the Council that according to satellite images there were detected 5 wildfire flashpoints, one of which was greatly far away from 4 points and added that the photos will assist the authorized body conducting the investigation to determine the causes of the fire.          RA Minister of Nature Protection Artsvik Minasyan presented the steps and conclusions assumed by authorized departments, informing that post-fire operation performance was not only a serious lesson in twenty-four days but also brought to public attention sectorial major gaps. “The lack of communication means is one of the crucial sectorial gaps and it was reported back to the RA President and Prime Minister in the course of consultations. The RA President instructed to consider and address the issue along with telecommunications in Armenia; VivaCell-MTS company made a response to this and at present communication system is monitored, which may provide air communication: the latter will be applied not only to prevent wildland fires but also to accomplish monitoring”: A. Minasyan noted and informed that foremost personnel and structural amendments are planned in order to enhance post-operative response, implementation of emergency actions and round-the-clock preservation.                  The Minister also prioritized technical upgrading for which negotiations are embarked with partner countries and donor organizations targeted at having technical surveillance countermeasures. It was notified that the prospective of establishing similar centre was taken into consideration during the working visit paid to Georgia with the purpose of kicking off environmental transboundary project. By expressing concerns about wildfire causes, the RA Minister of Nature Protection notified, that satellite photos and acquired facts will be sent to the Investigative Committee for the comprehensive investigation. There will be particularly punished those people doing firebreak on purpose and in case of human-caused fires the causes must be clarified.         According to A. Minasyan, cut boundaries of the reserve bring about to human-caused fires and now a goal of addressing this problem is set by a new management plan, including its spatial zones, developing into at least buffer zones and sanctuaries at “Khosrov Forest” state reserve. The ministry looks forward to the assistance of NGOs and wider layers of the society to execute these activities. It requires attracting of ample funding from the process of ecotourism development in specially protected areas of nature and “debt-for-nature swap”. Enviornmental matters raised by the participants were discussed at the session. It was offered to take some of them in the next session agenda of the Public Council, which was approved by the Chairman of the Public Council.