The Republic of Armenia ratified the convention on "Biodiversity" in 1993 and has been actively participating in its processes since then. In 2000 the country submitted its Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, and in 2002 the Government adopted "The State development strategy of Specially Protected Areas of RA and national action plan". 4 (four) national reports (the latest report -2009) were submitted to the secretariat of the convention on "Biodiversity".
The biodiversity of Armenia is rich with endemic, rare and economically valuable species and is also considered to be one of the centers of cattle breeding and agriculture, where there are numerous species of wild crop relatives and animal genes.10% of the country area, representing at least 60% of the flora and fauna species, is currently protected.
The aim of the project is to reveal the existing ecological gaps of PAs in the implementation processes of "The State development strategy of Specially Protected Areas of RA and national action plan", to support to secure the under-represented biodiversity, the efficient management of PAs at local level and the staff capacity building of the system of PAs. Threats to the protected areas are: - Poor social condition of neighboring community population of PAs threatens PAs ecosystems and biodiversity. The inhabitants, violating PAs regime, illegally use PAs natural resources: woodcutting, animal hunting, fishery, haying, grazing etc.
- Conflict / clash of economic and environmental interests, especially in the case of newly establishing PAs.
- Intensification of natural disasters, such as mudflows, droughts, landslides, in most cases as a result of anthropogenic influence and human intervention, such as over-felling of forests, unregulated use of water resources, violation of the land use agro technologic rules.
- Lack of permanent monitoring in PAs prevents from providing information about the changes of the ecosystems and the condition of their elements, as well as operatively responding to these changes by the authorities.
- Unregulated tourism and recreation significantly prevent the PAs from the revenues.
- Low awareness on the PA functions, activities and objectives among the population, in the result of which the participatory management is almost absent and conflict situations exist.
The project proceeds from the authorities of the environmental field of RA and is in close cooperation with the WWF project "Project of 2012 protected areas for Caucasus eco-region".
Project Description
The activities corresponding to the work plan of PAs of RA have been started to be implemented since 2002, after the adoption of "The State development strategy of Specially Protected Areas of RA and national action plan". With the help of the state funds the establishment programs of the new protected areas were developed, as well as considerable work on the legislative and institutional fields of PAs was implemented ( a new law on "Specially Protected Areas" of RA was adopted, " the regulation on the monitoring implementation and arrangement in the Specially Protected Areas", "the regulation on the cadastre management in the Specially Protected Areas", the management plans (2007-2011) of "Sevan" and "Dilijan" national parks were adopted by the government of RA, the management plan (2010-2014) of "Khosrov forest" state reserve is in the adoption process, the management plan of "Shikahogh" state reserve has already been elaborated and now is in the process of discussion, the project of the biodiversity monitoring system investment in "Sevan" and "Dilijan" national parks has been approved).
The following outcomes are expected after the implementation of the activities of the work plan of PAs: - Analyses of the system gaps of PAs of Armenia and development of the proposals.
- Development of the management models and the relevant regulation of PAs managed by the communities.
The project is managed by the staff of the Biodiversity Management Agency and the Environment Protection Department of the Ministry of Nature Protection, as well as by the coordinating council of the project.
The project is financed by Global Environment Facility (GEF); co-finance sources are the Government of Armenia, Ecotourism Association, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), WWF Armenian and "Khustup" NGO.
Objective of the project
The objective of this project is totally focused on the implementation of the following two activities envisaged in the work plan of PAs: - Ecological gap analysis and development of the measures for the maintenance of the most valuable and threatened species.
- Recognition and promotion of a broad set of PA governance types.
Hence, the objectives of the project are: - Promote to improve the under-represented biodiversity in PAs of RA,
- Support the most efficient and balanced use of the legal acts operating in the field of PAs,
- Promote to discover the economic and recreation impact on different ecosystems and biodiversity of PAs and their zones of protection,
- Secure the participation of all the stakeholders in the management process of PAs,
- Support the establishment of the new management models of PAs managed by the communities.
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The consultant (henceforth consultant) should provide necessary assistance to the local consultant organization to implement the activities envisaged for the preparation phase up to the mark. For that purpose the consultant should implement the following activities within 15 days. - Assist the consultant organization in the development of the Terms of References for the working groups,
- Assist in the decision of the implementation methods for the envisaged activities,
- Assist in the decision of the condition indicators of the biodiversity elements,
- Assist in the acquisition of the skills on how to apply the algorithms adopted in the international scene during the evaluation of the gaps found in the protected areas,
- Present the international experience of the community management new models of PAs, particularly in the management of the nature monuments,
- Assist in drafting the questionnaire, on the introduction of the community management models of the nature monuments, with the community leaders (councillor).
During the implementation of the task the consultant should work in close cooperation with the project/scientific manager. After implementing the mentioned tasks the consultant should submit a report to the project/scientific manager within 10 days. |
