We, « Armenia Tree Project, » « My Forest Armenia, » and « SHEN » NGO, have the great pleasure of announcing the creation of the Forest Alliance of Armenia.
Our three organizations, active in reforestation and afforestation in Armenia, have decided to unite to advocate for the protection and restoration of forest ecosystems and to support the increase of forest cover in Armenia. Through the Alliance, we aim to speak with one voice to government officials and public policymakers, as well as to raise awareness among the general public about the importance of forests, the dangers they are facing, the possible solutions for forest conservation, and the necessity to increase of forest cover.
Forest ecosystems provide a multitude of benefits to humans in terms of climate regulation, water supply, erosion control, biodiversity, clean air, carbon sequestration etc. At the same time, forests face huge pressures, both anthropogenic and climate-driven.
Armenia as a forest poor country, is suffering from its lack of forest cover, showing high soil erosion rates and negatively impacted local hydrology. With the climate crisis and the increasingly more extreme weather events, these effects become stronger and the impact of the lack of forested areas becomes more important. At the same time, suitable areas for reforestation are sparse, due to the country’s high elevation and the mostly very harsh and dry conditions.
The priorities of the Forest Alliance of Armenia are:
Designation of new lands for afforestation
Conservation and restoration of natural forests
Sustainable management and protection of planted forests from the soviet era
Put a stop to the indiscriminate burning of grasslands, that negatively affect natural regeneration and biodiversity
In order to achieve its objectives and realize its mission, the Alliance will:
Organize regular roundtables with public authorities and other stakeholders concerned with forests, such as universities, NGOs, international organizations, etc. in order to discuss and provide concrete results on various subjects.
Organize appropriate working groups together with public authorities to ensure the practical follow-up.
Raise public awareness to the importance of forests and trees in general via different communication methods, such as, media, social media, exhibitions, seminars, etc.
The Alliance is open and welcomes any new reforestation and afforestation organisations who are active in Armenia in accordance to its by-laws.
The Forest Alliance of Armenia is looking forward to help achieve large-scale and lasting impact on forests of Armenia.