At the initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), a discussion was held in Syunik Governorate regarding the program aimed at increasing the resilience of Armenia’s forests, during which the works carried out within its framework, planned actions and opportunities for cooperation with actors in the field were presented.
The meeting was attended by representatives of structures involved in forest management and climate change initiatives in the region: employees of the Syunik regional administration, community administrations, “Hayantar,” Zangezur biosphere complex, RA Ministry of Environment, grant-giving structures, and administrative heads of forest settlements.
The program “Increasing the resilience of forests in Armenia through adaptation due to mitigation measures and expansion of green spaces in rural areas” is implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the “Office for the Implementation of Environmental Programs” of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia.
The Green Climate Fund finances the project, the Government of Armenia, the Austrian Development Agency, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano in Italy, and the World Wide Fund for Nature. The project will have long-term social, economic, and environmental outcomes thanks to a $10 million grant and $8.7 million in co-financing from the Green Climate Fund.
The following works will be done in Syunik and Lori regions within eight years.
• Afforestation and reforestation of 4700 hectares of land of the state forest fund,
• Afforestation and reforestation of 1000 hectares of communal lands,
• Organization of logging works of 1600 hectares of degraded forests,
• Provide support to 9,000 vulnerable households in forest areas to replace their current low-efficiency wood stoves with more efficient ones.
Last year, a nursery was already established in Sisian with this program.
