Training sessions on Management Options for Degraded Coppice Forests were held in the scope of the “Forest resilience of Armenia, enhancing adaptation and rural green growth via mitigation” project.
31 October 2023, Yerevan, Armenia - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) organized a two-day on-the-job training on Management Options for Degraded Coppice Forests in Lori marz, Pambak community on October 16-17 under the guidance of an international consultant, Eduard Hochbichler. The two-day training was carried out in an interactive way on the demonstration plots of the selected coppice forests in Pambak community in Lori marz. The specific objectives of the training were toIntroduce to the training participants the topic of management options for degraded coppice forests from an International Silvicultural Specialist and provide first-hand experience on best implementation practices. Additionally, to guide the training participants to conduct tree selection and marking for harvesting. The training was organized for the staff of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia.
The training is part of the project entitled ‘Forest resilience of Armenia, enhancing adaptation and rural green growth via mitigation’ implemented by FAO and the Environmental Project Implementation Unit of the Ministry of Environment of Armenia and co-funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Government of Armenia, the Austrian Development Agency, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano - Italy, and the World Wildlife Fund Armenia.
This eight-year forestry project aims to increase forest cover in Armenia by 2.5 percent, and to reduce the fuelwood demand of rural communities by at least 30 percent. The project also works to increase the role of communities governing and managing natural resources, and to improve fuelwood management as well as the production of wood and non-wood forest products and services.
Two regions – Lori in the north, and Syunik in the south – are targeted. They were selected based on forest types, population density, local poverty levels, and exposure to climate change, in addition to the potential impact on important forest ecosystems. The project represents a relatively new approach to sustainable forest management in Armenia, with the potential to act as a model for the entire country and to produce a paradigm shift towards low-emission development.