Donation Ceremony of Forest Fire Early Response Equipment to “Syunik” and “Kapan” Forest Enterprises of “Hayantar” SNCO and “Arevik” National Park

The UNDP/GEF “Adaptation to Climate Change Impacts in Mountain Forest Ecosystems of Armenia” project, which aims to enhance adaptation of the forests to cope with risks posed by climate change, addressed this issue by donating key pieces of forest fire early response equipment/tools to “Syunik” and “Kapan” Forest Enterprises as well as to “Arevik” National Park.

The donation ceremony of forest fire early response equipment to “Syunik” and “Kapan” Forest Enterprises of “Hayantar” SNCO  and “Arevik” National Park took place in Goris, Syunik region on 22 July 2011. Together with the donation ceremony, the local foresters demonstrated the use of the newly-received forest fire early response equipment in a nearby forest area of the “Syunik” Forest Enterprise. Leading the demonstration was Mr. Nikola Nikolov, International Expert on Forest Fire Management under the UNDP/GEF Project.

In his opening remarks Mr. Dirk Boberg, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Armenia, stressed that the donated equipment would be of great help to foresters in case of forest fires. The welcoming speeches were delivered by the high level officials of the RoA Ministries of Nature Protection, Emergency Situations, and Agriculture and Syunik regional administration. A brief presentation on Projects’ component on forest fire early response and technical characteristics of forest fire early response equipment/tools to be donated was made by Mr. A. Ter-Zakaryan, UNDP/GEF Project Task Leader.

The forest fire early response equipment, including pick-up trucks outfitted with engine operated water pumps, several types of hand tools, as well as fire fighter uniforms guarantee a long-term tangible impact of the project in the Syunik region and are important.