Cbd third National Report Armenia (English version)

Mountain Biodiversity

Programme Element 1. Direct actions for conservation, sustainable use ad benefit sharing
Has your country taken any measures to prevent and mitigate the negative impacts of key threats to mountain biodiversity?
No
No, but relevant measures are being considered
Yes, some measures taken (please provide details below)	X
Yes, many measures taken (please provide details below)
Further comments on the measures taken to prevent and mitigate the negative impacts of key threats to mountain biodiversity
Mountainous regions of the country face hard natural and climatic conditions. They lack water and agricultural lands as well as face unequal distribution of other resources. According to the existing legislation the areas located between 1700-2000 m a.s.l. are considered “mountainous” and the areas of higher than 2000m a.s.l. are defined as “high mountainous”. The constraints for sustainable development of mountainous and high mountainous regions are large in number and diverse in nature. No comprehensive analysis of the issues of development of those regions is implemented yet. As a result, no comprehensive policy is developed or implemented. Considering the importance of the issue, the Government of Armenia adopted a number of resolutions aimed at investigating social economical and historical cultural peculiarities of those regions, identifying problems faced and ways to overcome them towards further development. Some of those resolutions include: Government Resolution #756 (November 27, 1998) “On categorization of the settlements of the Republic of Armenia by altitudes” Government Resolution #246 (April 21, 1999) “On concept program of priority issues of bordering and high mountainous regions of Armenia” Decree of the Prime Minister of Armenia #222 (March 22, 2001) “On approving of (a) the charter of the inter-agency commission on investigation of the issues of mountainous settlements development, (b) 2001-2002 activity plan of the commission” Government Resolution #994 (August 8, 2003) “On approving (a) strategic program on poverty reduction in Armenia” Government Resolution #100 (January 22, 2004) “On Approving the list of activities for 2004-2006 for implementation of strategic program on poverty reduction” Priority risks for biodiversity of mountainous regions currently include: unsustainable use of natural pastures and grasslands, land alienation for industrial, transport and urban construction, pollution of water and land resources, etc. Improvement and sustainable use of pastures and grasslands are intended in a number of project documents, including: NBSAP, National Action Plan to Combat Desertification, National Strategy for Sustainable development of Agriculture, “Community-based Management of Watersheds” component of the “Natural Resources Management and Poverty Reduction” project. Global climate change is one of potential treats. Possible impact of climate change on high mountainous ecosystems and their biodiversity is discussed in the “First National Communication on Climate Change”. The following impacts are predicted: decrease in the total area of pastures and their effectiveness by 4-10% (including reduction of the area of moist valuable pastures of alpine and sub-alpine zones of mountainous and high mountainous regions by up to 20%),; reduction of the harvest from mountainous grasslands by 7-10%.

Has your country taken any measures to protect, recover and restore mountain biodiversity?
No
No, but some measures are being considered
Yes, some measures taken (please provide details below)	X
Yes, many measures taken (please provide details below)
Further comments on the measures taken to protect, recover and restore mountain biodiversity
The fourth section of the “Strategy of Sustainable Development of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia” (2004) contains provisions on sustainable use, restoration and melioration of the pastures, including improvement of alpine pastures, modeling of optimal size for cattle breeding industries with regard to zoning, creation of favorable conditions for the farthest pastures, improvement and melioration of pastures, monitoring of pasture use, etc. Please refer to Target 1.1 for further information on the implementation of above-mentioned activities. The following activities have been carried out in mountainous community pastures of Gegharkunik and Tavush marzes under the “Community-based Management of Watersheds” component of the “Natural Resources Management and Poverty Reduction” project: restoration of the existing roads through fields, installation of water discharge pipelines for the roads running through the fields, construction of cattle watering facilities for cattle, prevention of water erosion, etc. In order to reduce anthropogenic impact on mountainous forests (forest logging) the demonstrations of the construction of biogas production systems is being implemented in the mentioned marzes. Please refer to the Target 4.2 and Questions 174-185 for further information on forest biodiversity conservation activities. According to the “State Strategy and National Action Plan for Development of Nature Protected Areas in Armenia” in order to conserve rich biodiversity of mountainous regions it is intended to establish one state reserve, 2 national parks, 2 natural parks, and a number of reservations in the period before the year 2010. This process is currently underway. The draft Strategy for Sustainable Development of Mountainous and High Mountainous Areas emphasizes the necessity of development and implementation of a number of projects related to implementation of scientific research and monitoring of the impact of global changes upon the biodiversity of mountainous regions. It is intended to establish a mountain biosphere reserve on the basis of “Shikahogh” state reserve.

Has your country taken any measures to promote the sustainable use of mountain biological resources and to maintain genetic diversity in mountain ecosystems?
No
No, but some measures are being considered
Yes, some measures taken (please provide details below)	X
Yes, many measures taken (please provide details below)
Further comments on the measures to promote the sustainable use of mountain biological resources and to maintain genetic diversity in mountain ecosystems
“National Action Plan to Combat Desertification in Armenia” anticipates development and application of target programs for mountainous settlements, zones and areas as well as re-inhabitation of high mountainous abandoned villages as a ground for development of recreational activities. In 2005 by the assistance of UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) the draft Strategy for Sustainable Development of Mountainous and High Mountainous Areas has been developed with a separate chapter on “Strategy of Effective Use of Natural Resources and Environment Protection”. The main objectives, tasks and priorities of the sustainable development of mountainous areas at the environmental field were identified and the investment portfolio for sustainable use of bioresources was developed. The mountainous areas are rather rich with recreational resources due to landscape diversity, curing features of the climate, existence of mineral water sources and areas covered by forests, etc. However, the potential of recreational resources is not used effectively yet and all the processes to improve this situation are carried out very slowly due to lack of appropriate resources. Refer to the Targets 1.1, 2.1, 4.1 for further information on activities related to sustainable use of biodiversity of the high mountainous Sevan Lake.

Has your country taken any measures for sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of mountain genetic resources, including preservation and maintenance of traditional knowledge?
No
No, but some measures are being considered	X
Yes, some measures taken (please provide details below)
Yes, many measures taken (please provide details below)
Further comments on the measures for sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of mountain genetic resources

Programme Element 2. Means of implementation for conservation, sustainable use and benefit sharing
Has your country developed any legal, policy and institutional framework for conservation and sustainable use of mountain biodiversity and for implementing this programme of work?
No
No, but relevant frameworks are being developed	X
Yes, some frameworks are in place (please provide details below)
Yes, comprehensive frameworks are in place (please provide details below)
Further comments on the legal, policy and institutional frameworks for conservation and sustainable use of mountain biodiversity and for implementing the programme of work on mountain biodiversity.
The investment portfolio of the draft Strategy for Sustainable Development of Mountainous and High Mountainous Areas includes proposal on establishment of National Centre for sustainable development of mountainous regions.

Has your country been involved in regional and/or transboundary cooperative agreements on mountain ecosystems for conservation and sustainable use of mountain biodiversity?
No
No, but some cooperation frameworks are being considered
Yes (please provide details below)	X
Further information on the regional and/or transboundary cooperative agreements on mountain ecosystems for conservation and sustainable use of mountain biodiversity
Regional cooperation is underway in the framework of several international projects, such as particularly: Reducing Transboundary Pollution of Kura-Aras River Basin. Improvement of Regional Water Resource Management in South Caucasus Joint Management of Transboundary Rivers In order to joint conservation of the biodiversity of high mountainous ecosystem adjacent to Armenian and Georgian borders the “Establishment of transboundary protected area in Javakhk region” project intends to establsih a series of Protected areas that can be integrated in future into one biosphere reserve. In the framework of the “Development of regional strategy for long-term conservation and sustainable use of the biological resources in Caucasus” project (funded by McArthur foundation) the Caucasian Regional Conservation Program has been developed by the coordination of WWF. It is currently in the stage of concurrence and includes sections with a number of activities on conservation of biodiversity of mountainous regions.

Programme Element 3. Supporting actions for conservation, sustainable use and benefit sharing
Has your country taken any measures for identification, monitoring and assessment of mountain biological diversity?
No
No, but relevant programmes are under development	X
Yes, some measures are in place (please provide details below)
Yes, comprehensive measures are in place (please provide details below)
Further comments on the measures for identification, monitoring and assessment of mountain biodiversity
Refer to the questions 19-23 of this report.

Has your country taken any measures for improving research, technical and scientific cooperation and capacity building for conservation and sustainable use of mountain biodiversity?
No
No, but relevant programmes are under development	X
Yes, some measures are in place (please provide details below)
Yes, comprehensive measures are in place (please provide details below)
Further comments on the measures for improving research, technical and scientific cooperation and capacity building for conservation and sustainable use of mountain biodiversity
The investment portfolio of the draft Strategy for Sustainable Development of Mountainous and High Mountainous Areas includes proposals on development and implementation of “Mountainous Areas of Armenia: Assessment of Present Status and Development Trends in Light of Global Changes at Regional Context” scientific-applied project.

Has your country taken any measures to develop, promote, validate and transfer appropriate technologies for the conservation of mountain ecosystems?
No
No, but relevant programmes are under development	X
Yes, some measures are in place (please provide details below)
Yes, comprehensive measures are in place (please provide details below)
Further comments on the measures to develop, promote, validate and transfer appropriate technologies for the conservation of mountain ecosystems

73. 
    
    

Please elaborate below on the implementation of this programme of work and associated decisions specifically focusing on: outcomes and impacts of actions taken; contribution to the achievement of the goals of the Strategic Plan of the Convention; contribution to progress towards the 2010 target; progress in implementing national biodiversity strategies and action plans; contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; constraints encountered in implementation.