Photos: Yerevan After Tree Felling Sparks Outrage on Social Media

Early this morning, employees of the "Greening and Environmental Protection" State Non-Commercial Organization were felling trees in the center of Yerevan, leading to public complaints and criticism. Residents expressed dissatisfaction, arguing that the capital is losing an already scarce amount of vegetation and questioning whether the trees were truly in need of removal and whether they would be replaced.

Commenting on today's tree felling, Facebook user Eduard Hayrumyan wrote that he had received answers to all his concerns from the director of the SNCO at Cascade and noted what he believed were incorrect actions: "First, I asked and was assured that the trees in my photos that have not yet been cut down will not be felled. Then I inquired about how many empty plots and previously felled tree spaces exist in Yerevan's Central Administrative District, to which there was no response.
Then I suggested that when all empty plots next to the city's streets and previously felled tree areas are replenished with new trees, perhaps then the public would better understand the felling and replacement of 'deformed and lifeless' trees. However, when no new trees are planted in any empty spaces and green canopies are bulldozed, this certainly cannot be received well. I hope the city hall will reverse its tree felling plans and continue to replace empty plots and previously felled trees with new ones, at which point I will personally applaud the city hall," the user wrote.

Another user, Nune Avetisyan, described this operation as a classic manifestation of barbarism, stating, "How can young trees be cut down, especially in the conditions of Yerevan's disgracefully polluted air? I'm a bit skeptical, but law enforcement must handle this case; no clarification is acceptable here. The trees are neither old nor sick, as is clear from the photos taken in the Opera Park in the heart of Yerevan..."

A third user, Artashes Aramazd Mkrtchyan, commented, "Starting from point 0, this is the face of the Armenian authority," continuing that they only know how to destroy, cut, throw, and crumble.

Earlier today, Armen Begoyan, the director of the "Greening and Environmental Protection" SNCO, assured reporters and citizens in the Cascade area that the felled trees would be replaced as early as tomorrow with more beautiful, viable trees: "We will plant tomorrow; in a few days, you will see this entire street blooming. We haven't invented the wheel; we have brought in the same types of trees that have thrived in Yerevan for decades. They are simply more ornamental, functional varieties that have a great capacity for air purification. We have also brought in some plane trees, but of a different, spherical variety," he said.

According to Armen Begoyan, the newly planted trees will have a certain canopy from the moment they are planted. The Public Relations Department of the Yerevan City Hall stated that the tree felling at Cascade is being conducted in cooperation with narrow specialists in the field and based on a professional assessment. The felled trees will immediately be replaced with new trees adapted to Yerevan's climatic conditions.