The Natural Environmental and Armenia’s State Budget

The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment organized a series of 3 seminars entitled “The Environment and Armenia’s State Budget.”

The speaker was Mr. Ashot Harutunyan, Head of the Department of Monitoring of Environmental Strategic Programs, RA Ministry of Nature Protection. Mr. Harutunyan is one of the foremost experts in the country on economic instruments in the environmental sector.

The series touched on the critical topic of the state’s use of economic instruments, such as taxes, fees, fines, penalties, and the like, to regulate the use of the country’s natural capital. It will also examine the revenues generated from the use of this capital in support of the state budget.

In Armenia, these economic instruments fall into two broad categories, natural resource use fees (and more recently royalties for minerals) and environmental-protection fees. Each seminar will cover a different economic instrument and one session will focus on areas in need of change and possible pathways for this change.

Monday, July 29, “Natural Resource Use Fees & Royalties”

Wednesday, July 31, “Environmental Protection Fees”

Friday, August 2, “Possible Paths for Change”