In Armenia economical issues are not prioritized as important issues and even are not considered to be a challenge. In Armenia economical issues are first of all associated with the level of Sevan lake and forest protection issues. Problems such as change of the global climate or lack of green areas are deemed not so important in the society. However in the recent times the ecological movements have been activated and some people and organizations are trying to raise issues and attract the government’s attention (for example the non-governmental organizations which are struggling against cutting the Teghut forests and fighting against ecological violations). The cooperation with international organizations enables the Armenian organizations to give strategic importance to ecological issues and it is an opportunity for long-term cooperation. The European New Neighborhood policy is like that too, and Armenia is participating in it as well. A lot of provisions in the action plan of the EU-Armenia new neighborhood policy are dedicated to reforms in the sector of environmental protection. When people hear about Armenia’s relation with the EU in the sector of environmental protection, they associate the issue with the demand to close the atomic station of Metsamor as it was the EU’s demand. The issue of closing the atomic station is a part of the action plan in the sector of environmental protection and it envisages a quite long process, which is still in process in participation of corresponding experts of the sector. The new neighborhood policy contains provisions and actions for the purpose of creating necessary conditions for efficient management of the environmental protection sector. It envisages a complex of energetic and environmental strategies, which takes into consideration the hydro-energetic proportional development, the issue of radio-active waste management, effective management of water resources and agricultural lands. The New neighborhood Policy action plan pays a special attention to the importance of the Aarhus convention (The UN’s convention on availability of information on environmental issues, society’s participation in the decision-making and access to justice) implementation, specifically availability of information concerning environmental protection and citizen participation in the decision making. The action plan also encourages regional cooperation through environmental protection as it envisages environmental protection and agreed policies of water resources management in the South Caucasus countries.
