Russia strengthens Armenia's capacity to tackle climate challenges
On 27 September 2021, the online presentation of the results of two projects in Armenia funded by the Climate Window of the UNDP-Russia Trust Fund for Development took place.
The project ‘Addressing climate change impact through enhanced capacity for wildfires management in Armenia’ was aimed at strengthening forest fire early warning and monitoring systems, improvement and enforcement of the relevant policy and regulatory framework, formulation of clear roles and responsibilities of corresponding national structures, and development of necessary technical capacities at national and local levels. Due to the project activities over 56,865 people will benefit from safer livelihoods and strengthened resilience, while over 23,213 ha of forest ecosystems’ rich biodiversity will be better protected.
The project ‘Increase resilience of Armenia to climate change through modernization of Armenia’s hydro meteorological service (AHS)’ focused on strengthening the technical and professional capacities of the AHS to ensure adequate forecast and warning services for contributing to climate resilient development. Within the framework of the project 23 weather stations were modernized in six regions of the country and 4 road and agriculture weather stations were installed in three regions. These will ensure weather information coverage over 60 percent Armenia’s territory and will allow data collection from different sources to provide proper weather forecasts to the communities, farmers and other stakeholders. A draft ‘Law on civil protection and disaster risk reduction’ was developed and submitted to the Government of Armenia for endorsement. The professional capabilities of the AHS were improved through equipping and furnishing the AHS training center.
The representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Armenia and national partners attended the online event.