PRESS RELEASE
November 10, 2004

ATP Participates in International Forum on Farming and Agribusiness in Armenia

Karla M. Wesley (right) and ATP Deputy Country Director Mher Sadoyan at the First International AgroForum in Armenia

YEREVAN--Hundreds of Armenian farmers and agribusiness owners joined experts from 27 countries late last month for an international conference on ways of boosting Armenia's vital agriculture sector.

The three-day forum organized by the Ministry of Agriculture was attended by senior Armenian officials and representatives of Western donor agencies and other international institutions. The latter pledged continued assistance to the sector, which generates at least 20 percent of the Armenia's Gross Domestic Product and employs approximately 40 percent of the labor force.

The October 28-30 conference, which was attended by more than 500 participants, included a report by representatives of the Armenia Tree Project (ATP) titled "Community Driven Conservation Development: Lessons Learned From the Armenia Tree Project."

The paper was presented by Karla M. Wesley, PhD, on behalf of ATP and co-authored by ATP staff members Mher Sadoyan and Anahit Gharibyan. During the presentation, Dr. Wesley, an affiliated researcher at the University of California at Davis, explored the "community development lessons" learned from Armenians in nearly 500 locations throughout the country who planted over 530,000 trees with ATP between 1994-2004.

Discussing its founding in 1994, she explained that ATP was created to address the ecological and social importance of reforesting the country. "The primary goal of ATP continues to be the assistance of the Armenian people in using trees to improve their standard of living and protect the global environment. As an extension of these projects, ATP also aims to promote self-sufficiency, aiding primarily those with the fewest resources
first, and conserve Armenia's indigenous ecosystem," she stated.

"ATP began an innovative program to establish social contracts with individual communities through mayors and institutions," she continued. To be eligible, ATP sites must meet three key criteria: good irrigation, sufficient soil quality, and a highly motivated resident population. "This paper focuses on the significant importance of the last criteria: resident motivation, or what experts in the development field call 'community buy-in, '" explained Dr. Wesley.

During her presentation, Dr. Wesley explained the method of coppicing, in which ATP staff rejuvenate declining forests by cutting tree stumps with intact root systems to select the strongest shoot for successful rejuvenation. "Since 1999, these coppicing projects have gradually grown from three hectares a year to 210 hectares in 2004," she emphasized.

Dr. Wesley also noted that ATP operates one-hectare nurseries in the refugee-villages of Karin and Khachpar, employing 29 workers there and producing a total of 50,000 seedlings each year. She also pointed out that a six-hectare nursery was established this year in Vanadzor, which is already growing 400,000 trees for mountain reforestation.

Finally, Dr. Wesley described ATP's sustainable mountain development program, which addresses the growing concern about Armenia's forest loss and addresses the severe socio-economic needs of rural communities. Located in one of the poorest regions of Armenia, the Getik River Valley north of Lake Sevan was chosen by ATP for a model project, and 17 families in Aygut chose to participate in ATP's innovative backyard nursery project.

"Central to this reforestation project's success has been its use of social contracts to establish rules of interaction that encourage self-determination and autonomy in communities traumatized by war and severe poverty," she stated. "But the greatest lesson to be learned may be the willingness of the Armenian people to care about their environment. Common beliefs that Armenians are not interested in environmental issues have been
disproven by the ATP experience."

"By developing long-term relationships and providing Armenian citizens with the necessary skills and tools, ATP helps Armenians restore native tree species critical for Caucasian biodiversity while reclaiming self-sufficiency for their families and communities," concluded Dr. Wesley.

After the presentation, ATP Deputy Country Director Mher Sadoyan responded to questions from the audience. A number of international forestry experts were in attendance, including Lara Peterson and DeAndra Beck of the US Forest Service International Program in Washington, and Zvi Herman, director of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Center for International Agricultural Development.

Mr. Herman responded quite positively to the presentation, and he was especially delighted when he learned that one of ATP's nursery directors received training in Israel, and that Israeli irrigation systems were being utilized at ATP's nurseries. Ms. Beck and Ms. Peterson were also enthusiastic about the presentation, especially after having toured ATP's Karin Nursery earlier in the week.

For additional information about the First International AgroForum in Armenia, visit www.agroforum.am. For information about Armenia Tree Project and its programs, visit www.armeniatree.org.

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