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On April 30, 2014 a workshop on the TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) scoping study for the forest sector of Armenia was organized by WWF-Armenia in the frames of the European Union (EU) funded project “European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) East Countries Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) II Program” (ENPI-FLEG II). The Austrian Development Cooperation (ADA) provides additional funding for some project components in Armenia.
The workshop was aimed at presenting the initial findings of the study and getting feedback from the workshop participants through open discussion. The workshop was attended by more than 25 representatives from various forest related state entities (the Ministries of Agriculture and Nature Protection), international organizations and NGOs. The EU Delegation representative was also present.
The main topics discussed during the workshop included the current state of the forest sector of Armenia, existing challenges and perspectives, relevant policy context; forest governance issues; the forest sector impacts and dependencies on biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES); alternative policies (i.e. Business as Usual versus Sustainable Ecosystem Management) and their impacts on biodiversity and ESs; the questions to be addressed by the full TEEB country study for the forestry sector and a roadmap for consideration of ESs in the forest sector policy and economy.
The initial proposals of the study were refined and complemented by various recommendations from the workshop participants. In particular, the following needs were emphasized: revision of relevant policy and legislation to reflect ESs, integration of the economics of biodiversity and
ESs in decision-making, improvement of institutional and human capacities for consideration of TEEB aspects, improvement of institutional framework, forest management planning and implementation of the plans, dialogue between various actors, awareness raising on the value of biodiversity and ESs, implementation of pilot projects to show the long-term benefits of sustainable forest management and protection of ESs and others.
The comments and recommendations from the workshop will be incorporated in the final report of the study, which can later serve as a roadmap for further steps on considering ESs provided by forests and development of cost-effective policy responses and better informed decisions.
Detailed information about the ENPI- FLEG II project can be found at www.enpi-fleg.org and www.panda.org/armenia
For further information:
Siranush Galstyan
Project Coordinator
Tel: +374 10 58 89 83 (ext. 14)
Email: sgalstyan@wwfcaucasus.org
Gera Voskanyan
Partnership and Communications Manager
Tel: +374 10 58 89 83 (ext. 14)
Email: gvoskanyan@wwfcaucasus.org