On January 21- February 10, 2010, Green Lane organized IRMP meetings with members of Alaverdi (Sanahin, Akner, Madan), Akhatala, Tumanyan, Shamlugh, Aqori, Neghots, Teghut, Shnogh, Marts, Dsegh and Qarinj communities. These meetings were organized within the framework of the ongoing regional project “Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Land Degradation and Reducing Poverty in the South Caucasus Region”. The project is being implemented by REC Caucasus in close partnership with CENN with the financial support of the European Union and covers the Khrami-Debeda and Alazani-Iori watersheds in the South Caucasus region.

The aim of these meetings was development of Transboundary Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP) together with the local community members. Integrated Resource Management Planning is a modern method of natural resource management, where all components of land utilization and natural resources are not taken separately but are considered in a complex holistic manner. It is a roadmap providing implementation of the resource management process in an integrated manner which considers each resource in the context of a single natural complex. Integrated Resource Management Planning has the potential to identify complicated interrelations existing among all components of natural complexes and planning the future strategy of management on the basis of these interrelations which eventually provides for achieving sustainable development of the whole natural complex. In present development of IRMP will be concentrated on land resources related problems existing in the target areas and the ways of their solution.

Seminars aimed to discuss and identify the key causes of land degradation in these communities together with local community members and outline the ways to mitigate the negative impacts of these factors on land resources. Altogether around 139 participants attend these meetings out of which 68 (48.9%) were women. more...

Yerevan, June 17, 2009 - At the Aarhus Center hosted by the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia, an event dedicated to the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought was organized jointly by the Ministry of Nature Protection and “Green Lane” Agricultural Assistance NGO.
Mr. Ashot Vardevanyan, the deputy chief of the Bio-Resource Management Agency operating under the Ministry of Nature Protection, emphasized that combating desertification and drought is an issue of strategic importance to Armenia as about 80 percent of the country land resources are exposed to the threat of desertification in a varying degree. This threat is caused by a number of factors – deforestation, poor nature resource management, inappropriate farming techniques, etc.
Realizing the crucial importance of giving solutions to this problem at global, regional, national and community levels, Armenia became part of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought in 1997. Since 1998, the leading and coordinating role in implementation of the Convention at the national level was undertaken by the Ministry of Nature Protection.
“The fact that combating desertification is included as a component into national security and food security programs, national strategy for poverty reduction and other national programs and strategies comes to prove that this issue is considered among those of strategic importance to the country,” - said Mr. Vardevanyan. The speaker emphasized that desertification is among the environmental factors contributing significantly to increased poverty, which, for its part, leads to inefficient use and poor management of the country natural resources. He stressed also that this Convention is in synergy with other environmental UN Conventions such as the Convention on Climate Change or the Convention on Biodiversity. more...

June 3, 2009 The initial working meeting of the Armenian expert group involved in implementation of the regional environmental project for Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Land Degradation and Reducing Poverty in the South Caucasus Region was held at the REC Caucasus Armenian Branch Office in Yerevan. The project initiated by REC Caucasus in partnership with Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) in April 2009 and financially supported by the European Union brings together experts from three South Caucasus countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and aims to develop a common regional strategy for sustainable land-use management in the transboundary river watersheds of Khrami-Debeda and Alazani-Iori.
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On 14th of May 2008, Green Lane team invited friends and colleagues to meet at the ACDI/VOCA office to taste delicious vegetable dishes prepared with asparagus, broccoli, fresh potato, greens etc., all produced by Green Lane's member farmers and farmer groups involved in the High Value Agriculture Project. more...

On 7th of May 2008, at the meeting held by the FAO Representation in Armenia, the President of Green Lane Nune Sarukhanyan made a presentation on the results and outcomes of the Global Agro-Industries Forum: Improving Competitiveness and Development Impact (New Delhi, 8-11 April 2008). Representatives of various private and national organizations involved in agro-industry in Armenia attended the meeting. The presentation was dedicated to the issues that had been in focus of discussions in Delhi - potential, priorities and prospects of agro-industry at global and regional levels, existing challenges and issues, and the ways of solution. Dr Sarukhanyan stressed that Regional Strategy Workshops held as a part of the Forum gave the participants an opportunity to focus on the regional problems and opportunities and outline regional strategies for further development of agro-industrial sector.