Yerevan, Armenia — On November 26-27 the United Nations Development Programme, in collaboration with the RA Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Environment and EW4ALL Pillar Leads (UNDRR, WMO, ITU, IFRC) organized a national self-assessment workshop to assess the state of Armenia’s EWS within the framework of the “Early Warnings for All” (EW4All) global initiative.

The two-day workshop brought together over 50 representatives from 8 ministries, state agencies, community administrations, scientific organizations, UN partners, civil society organizations, and technical specialists from UNDRR, WMO, ITU, IFRC to review existing capacities and identify areas that require improvement.

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Armen Ghazaryan emphasized that the modernization of early warning systems stems from the provisions of the RA Law “On Disaster Risk Management and Population Protection” adopted in 2025.

Levon Azizyan, Director of the “Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center” SNCO of the Ministry of Environment, presented the work carried out in the field of forecasting and early warning on hydrometeorological hazards, emphasizing the key role of the Ministry in the development of national systems for forecasting and warning of these risks.”

UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Konstantin Sokulsky praised the national commitments to the development of multi-hazard EWS in Armenia as the main prerequisites for long-term resilience.

The workshop followed the internationally endorsed EW4All structure, focusing on Risk knowledge; Monitoring, forecasting & analysis; Warning dissemination & communication; and Preparedness & response to warnings - key pillars of early warning system. 

Participants reviewed the pillar-specific checklists, validating the available data, and discussed practical gaps in institutional coordination, technology, data sharing, and emergency readiness, as well as cross-cutting issues such as financial sustainability, human resources, and interoperability between agencies.

The findings and initial recommendations for a national roadmap to strengthen early warning capabilities were presented, which will guide future planning by the Government and partners as Armenia continues to modernize its risk monitoring and public warning systems. The finalized roadmap will be presented for validation and subsequent implementation at a dedicated high-level event planned for early next year.

The workshop was organized within the UNDP “Improving Water Reservoir Management Capabilities for Climate Risk Resilience” project, funded by the Government of Japan. Building on an official request from Armhydromet to WMO, the national rollout of the EW4ALL initiative is now underway, with WMO funding the gap assessment and development of Armenia’s national roadmap.

Japan considers that the climate crisis is a threat to all humanity and, in cooperation with UNDP, leads countries to accelerate their climate action. In 2021, UNDP launched a new phase of Climate Promise – From Pledge to Impact – aimed at translating NDC targets into concrete action. Japan is the largest supporter of this phase and joins longstanding partners such as Germany, Sweden, the European Union, Spain, and Italy and new partners such as the United Kingdom, Belgium, Iceland, and Portugal to accelerate these efforts. Delivered in collaboration with a wide variety of partners, Pledge to Impact has supported over 120 countries to enhance and implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.