Armenia Tree Project receives € 695,000 European Union grant

Armenia Tree Project (ATP) has been awarded a 695,000 euro grant from the European Union (EU) to increase environmental protection and climate change adaptation capacities in Armenia’s small regional cities and towns. ATP is the lead applicant of the grant; the Jinishian Memorial Foundation and the Armenian Energy Agency (AEA) Foundation are co-applicants.

The grant will finance the implementation of the action entitled “Green community – resilient future” and will introduce a green urban development model aimed at Armenia’s enhanced environmental protection and climate change adaptation.

Fifteen municipalities and their neighboring communities in the regions of Shirak, Lori and Tavush have been selected as beneficiaries. Funding will be used to:

• Green targeted 15 municipalities
• Green 50 schools and 10 parks
• Enhance urban greening capacity in targeted communities
• Establish 100 hectares of forests in 10 areas adjunct to the cities and towns
• Establish 150 backyard nurseries, modeled after ATP’s award-winning backyard nursery program
• Establish one nursery near Gyumri, modeled after the successful Mirak Family Reforestation Nursery operated by ATP
• Create an online information sharing and learning portal
• Establish 10 Eco Clubs and enhance ATP’s existing 5 in said regions
• Engage 7,000 schoolchildren in environmental education activities
• Hold eco-camps and annual country-wide clean-up competition campaigns to increase environmental awareness

ATP will be responsible for activities dedicated to advancing urban greening practices and the establishment of respective infrastructures as well as environmental education activities. The Jinishian Memorial Foundation will leverage its expertise and existing network of regional actors in the field of capacity enhancement to coordinate activities aimed at advancing regional and municipal dialogues with stakeholders. The AEA Foundation will design and deliver sub-activities aimed at the promotion of ‘green energy,’ with particular focus on solar appliances and energy efficiency practices.

New livelihood opportunities will be created in the selected communities as a result of the grant project. The project will help create additional income opportunities for a few hundred inhabitants who will be engaged in tree-planting activities.

“Through this grant project we will have a greater opportunity to scale up ATP’s programs to include more communities, and not only do greening projects but also help those communities set up sustainable practices and infrastructure that will carry them into the future,” said ATP operations manager Arthur Harutyunyan. “We are very grateful to be able to expand our environmental work and duplicate some of our most successful programs to contribute to the economic vitality of our communities.”

“We, at the Armenian Energy Agency foundation, are delighted about being a co-partner within this project, which is another opportunity for us to talk about green energy, benefits of renewable and efficient energy. I congratulate ATP and the Jinishian Memorial Foundation, and wish good luck to all of us to achieve our goals,” said Luiza Vardanyan, general director of the AEA Foundation.

EU4Environment: “Green community – resilient future” was launched on March 1, 2021 in Armenia and will go on for 36 months.