On 31 October a meeting was held between the representatives of the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia, Russian-UNDP Trust Fund Steering Committee, and UNDP in Armenia to discuss on-going cooperation, particularly, the implementation of “Addressing climate change impact through enhanced capacity for wildfires management in Armenia” project financed by Russia.

The project, launched in September 2017, helps address the critical issue of wildfire risks exaggerated under the climate change. This is done by supporting national partners in building necessary technical capacity and establishing sustainable practices of monitoring, prevention, and coordination of roles and responsibilities during suppression of forest fires.

Erik Grigoryan, Acting Minister of Nature Protection of Armenia, Sergey Kononuchenko, Deputy Director of the Department of International Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and Dmitry Mariyasin, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Armenia, discussed the importance of implementation of the project, in particular for conservation rich biodiversity of Armenia, for which wildfire is among the key threats.

During the meeting an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia and UNDP in Armenia regarding the transfer of three firefighting trucks, purchased within the framework of the project. These will support the efforts of the ministry aimed at mitigation of wildfire risks in forested areas of Armenia.