YEREVAN, JULY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. Nearly 500 thousand samples of unique plants created at the 70-year-old Botany Institute of the RA National Academy of Sciences considered as an ecoeducational and recreation institution is endangered due to lack of funds. Academician Vilen Hakobian said this at the July 10 general meeting of the Natural Sciences Department of the RA National Academy of Sciences. In his words, the above mentioned collections are currently kept at a building needing repair and not heated for many years. V. Hakobian said that both the Botanical Garden of Yerevan having the area of 80 hectares and Garden's Vanadzor (10 hectares) and Sevan (5 hectares) branches have problems of irrigation and rubbish disposal. In his words, the Garden's greenhouse is also in a sad condition. Tropical and subtropical plant collections are kept there. "We also have an apprehension that the only Armenian Botanical Garden can be turned into a construction site, as some organizations try to build elite buildings in that territory," V. Hakobian said. At the meeting, a decision was made to suggest that the presidency of the RA National Academy of Sciences and the RA Ministry of Education and Science apply to the RA government for the latter to allocate funds to the Botany Institute by the 2008 state budget. Allocation of that money will enable to solve the problems of restoration of the heating system of the three-storeyed Herbarium building, keeping of plant collections, irrigation and further care for the garden.

---