80% of Transcaucasian territory is currently subject to desertification.

Illegal deforestation, pasturing and irrational organization of agriculture are the reasons behind it, according to deputy head of Bioresource Management Department at Nature Preservation Ministry, UNCCD program coordinator Ashot Vardevanyan.

As he told a news conference in Yerevan, desertification threatens Transcaucasia. To combat it, UN program envisages restoration of watering and drainage systems.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was adopted on June 17, 1994.