Valuing Yerevan's Trees
I have prepared my first arborist report. This is pro-bono work for the "Kanach Yerevan" civic initiative, aimed at documenting tree damage on Grigor Lusavorich Street and highlighting the issue of low fines for such violations in Armenia.
During pipe replacement works, a contractor damaged the root systems of eight mature trees by excavating a trench within the mandatory protection zone, in some cases undercutting the trunks themselves. My assessment confirms that these trees have lost approximately 50% of their structural roots, rendering them mechanically unstable and creating a public safety hazard.
The main issue here is the discrepancy between the actual biological damage and the statutory fines. Under current Armenian law (ՀՕ-88-Ն), the damage to a massive 89 cm tree is valued at only ~$1,041, whereas its actual asset value (calculated using CTLA standards) exceeds $20,000. The total administrative fines cover less than 6% of the actual asset value destroyed.
Technical reports usually don't include policy recommendations, but this is a special case, so the document also contains specific proposals: reclassifying urban trees as capital infrastructure and reforming the penalty system to reflect the true cost of replacement and ecosystem services.