Copernicus Assisted Environmental Monitoring Across the Black Sea Basin – PONTOS

PERITIA – Policy, Expertise, and Trust in Action

Managing Wild Plant Collection in Armenia

RESPONDRONE

Our Planet – Elementary Level English Textbook

GAtES – German-Armenian Network on the Advancement of Public Participation GIS for Ecosystem Services as a Means for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development

Green Lab Armenia 2019

Forest Summit: Global Action and Armenia

enviroLENS

Sulfur Cycle in the Water Column of Lake Sevan

Wildfire Prevention Workshop

Waste Governance in Armenia

Waste Quantity and Composition Study

UNDP Development of E-Learning Course on Environmental Education

Nordic Solutions for Sustainable Cities

UNDP Environmental Education Training Modules

 

 

 

 

 

Sustainable Energy Academy

 

 

 

Ecotourism in Armenia

 

 

 

 

 

Master Degree in Innovative Technologies in Energy Efficient Buildings for Russian & Armenian Universities & Stakeholders – «MARUEEB»

The 1000 Leaf Project

Environmental Education and Youth Outreach

EEN logothumbnailThe aim of establishing the Environmental Education Network (EEN) is to contribute to the efforts of RA Government in promoting and ensuring environmental education at all school levels and at communities. The EEN is a unity of more than fifteen civil society, governmental, educational and international organizations, whose main goal is to contribute to the efforts of Armenia in promoting and ensuring environmental education at all school levels and communities. By having the Memorandum of Understanding signed by all of the EEN members, Armenia undertakes an action of improving the environmental education, with the help of additional knowledge and exchange of experience.

The activities of EEN are fully in line with the Government of Armenia’s 2011-2015 National Plan on Establishment of a Universal and Integrated National System for Environmental Education, Upbringing and Awareness and with the Agreement on Cooperation among the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and The Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Country Office in Armenia on the Integration of Environmental Education into Secondary School System of the Republic of Armenia as well as with the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) strategy.

In addition to the previously mentioned advantages, the establishment of EEN promises a potential for further improvement, which firstly implies growth of the number of the contributing parties.

The creation of EEN has been supported by the Norwegian Embassy Small Grants Program 2014, European Union supported civic society capacity building program of the UNDP GEF Small Grants Program, UNICEF, GIZ, WWF and OSCE.

Below are the founding members of EEN:

 

Seminar series on Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

Part 1. Fundamentals of Armenia’s Education System

Tuesday, Feb 10, 18:15-19:30
TOPIC: Curricular Principles of Armenia’s K-12 Education. SPEAKER: Melanya Davtyan, National Institute of Education, RA Ministry of Science and Education

Tuesday, Feb 17, 18:15-19:30
TOPIC: Armenian Legislation and K-12 Education. SPEAKER: Karen Melkonyan, Teachers’ Professional Development Division, Education Projects PIU, RA Ministry of Science and Education

Part 2. Existing situation and gaps in Armenia’s education system with respect to EE and ESD. Also learning from national and international best practices.

Tuesday, March 6, 16:00-18:00
TOPIC: Armenia’s International Obligations and Activities on EE and ESD. SPEAKERS: Karine Danielyan, Gayane Poghosyan, Anahit Gasparyan, Robert Stepanyan

Tuesday, March 17, 16:00-18:00
TOPIC: EE & ESD: International Experience with Effective EE and ESD in K-12 Education. SPEAKER: Being finalized

Tuesday, March 31, 16:00-18:00
TOPIC: Armenia’s integration of EE and ESD in K-12 Education. SPEAKER: Being finalized

Tuesday, April 14, 16:00-18:00
TOPIC: Role of Civil Society in EE and ESD Policy, Curriculum Development and Delivery. SPEAKERS: Being finalized

Part 3. Recommendations for greater integration of EE and ESD in Armenia educational system

Tuesday, April 28, 16:00-18:00
TOPIC: Armenia’s Legislative Gaps and Directions Forward with Respect to EE and ESD. SPEAKER: Karen Melkonyan, Teachers’ Professional Development Division, Education Projects PIU, RA Ministry of Science and Education

Tuesday, May 5, 16:00-18:00
TOPIC: NEXT STEPS: Enhancing the role of EE and ESD in Armenia’s K-12 Education. SPEAKER: Melanya Davtyan, National Institute of Education, RA Ministry of Science and Education

GIZ Reintroduction of the Brown Trout in Armenia’s Rivers

Reintroduction of the Brown Trout in Armenia’s Rivers Studied by AUA Acopian Center for the Environment

image004Overfishing in the 1990s has led to a collapse of Brown Trout (Salmo trutta morpha fario) stocks throughout Armenia. This species, once available abundantly in all of Armenia’s provinces, is currently found in fewer than 20% of surveyed rivers. To determine the suitability for its reintroduction, the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment with support from GIZ, the German Organization for International Cooperation, has conducted an extensive survey of physical and chemical properties of 22 rivers and streams in 7 provinces of Armenia.

“The results of the survey are promising,” says Dr. Karen Aghababyan, chief scientist of the AUA Acopian Center and the study’s principal investigator. “Most rivers studied are suitable for reintroduction of the species. Their oxygen and pH levels were within the range preferred by the Brown Trout, and most sites had appropriate levels of ammonia and carbon dioxide, as well as enough benthic invertebrates to serve as food for the reintroduced fish,” explains Dr. Aghababyan.

In addition to scouting river sites, the AUA Acopian Center researchers found an appropriate brood stock with which to populate the rivers in question. To this end, the Center has collaborated with a fish farm that had Brown Trout captured wild in the Arpa River in 2009. This trout, which has not interbred with other fish species and has not gone through artificial selection, caries all the genes of the wild population and is suitable for introduction into the native stocks.

For many decades, the Brown Trout has been a staple fish in diets worldwide. In most parts of the world, Brown Trout is interbred with local populations, resulting in fish that is genetically different from their ancestors. Very few places on Earth are home to genetically pure Brown Trout. Armenia is one of these places, its mountainous rivers providing protection from interbreeding with non-indigenous species.

A successful reintroduction of a fish species needs more than adequate water conditions and pure breed. “We also need to ensure that the site is protected from poachers. Communities close to these fish populations have to have economic incentive to protect them. Local stewardship of the fish stock has to be worked into the reintroduction,” says Dr. Aghababyan.

Batumi Raptor Count and AUA Acopian Center Continue to Partner

AUA Acopian Center for the Environment continues its cooperation with the Batumi Raptor Count (BRC) by developing and delivering environmental education programs to youth from all parts of the Caucasus. This year, Hasmik Ter-Voskanyan (in August) and Siranush Tumanyan (in September) led youth groups, including some from Armenia.

In early September, Dr. Karen Aghababyan, AUA Acopian Center chief scientist, attended the International Batumi Bird Festival organized by BRC. During his visit, Dr. Aghababyan discussed opportunities for expanding cooperation between the organizations through development of nature-based tourism as well as strengthening environmental-education and bird-monitoring programs.

“This is a relationship we want to develop further,” says Alen Amirkhanian, director of the AUA Acopian Center. “Batumi provides an unparalleled setting in the Caucasus to educate and conduct research on the environment. Importantly we are able to do this jointly with people from all parts of the Caucasus and Europe. Developing this type of cooperation is essential for addressing environmental protection needs,” says Amirkhanian.

BRC is a vital nature conservation program in the region. It monitors the more than 850,000 birds of prey that migrate through the “Batumi Bottleneck” every fall. It also works to protect the birds from illegal shootings and trappings, practices that continue to this day.

Batumi is a Black Sea coastal city in the Ajara region of the Republic of Georgia.

 

Human Carnivore Conflicts in Armenia: Baseline Study

image003The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment, in cooperation with the UK-based Fauna and Flora International (FFI), has launched a baseline study to better understand human-wildlife conflicts and approaches to mitigating them.

The abundance of livestock and other foodstuff, coupled with proximity to wildlife habitats, makes villages vulnerable to animals like wolves and bears. Often the threat is not physically against humans but against their economic assets. Wolves kill sheep, cows, and fowl, while bears damage fruit trees, destroy beehives, and deplete honey supplies. Over time these can take a heavy economic toll on villages that are surviving on meager means.

Before suffering heavy economic damage, however, villagers typically resort to killing the wolves or the bears, dealing a blow to an already tattered ecosystem. According to official statistics, 170 wolves have been killed during just three months of 2012.

FFI has been involved in human-wildlife conflict mitigation projects for many years, working extensively in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and, most recently, in the Republic of Georgia. Through a program that combines direct intervention, raising awareness, and market-based innovation, the FFI initiative has seen a marked improvement in the attitudes of livestock farmers towards wolves.

The AUA ACE researchers, all AUA students, are led by Dr. Karen Aghababyan, AUA ACE chief scientist, in studying nine rural communities across Armenia as well as the habitat conditions of the wildlife.

The project, expected to be completed by end of this year, will not only give students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the field, but will also contribute to finding solutions to preserving biodiversity while ensuring economic wellbeing in rural communities.

WASTEnet-WAStewater Treatment SystEms within Joint Operational Programme

Duration: July 2013 – June 2015

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American University of Armenia is a Partner for WASTEnet-a Black Sea network promoting natural integrated WAStewater Treatment SystEms within Joint Operational Programme “BLACK SEA BASIN 2007-2013”.

The project’s aim is through sharing resources and competencies for environmental protection and conservation and by promoting cooperation initiatives targeted at innovation in technologies and management of Waste and Wastewater Management Systems to motivate the widest possible audience of local and regional authorities of the participating Black Sea countries to develop and apply Natural Treatment Systems and in particular the Constructed Wetlands for the wastewater treatment of the remote rural communities.

Start Date: 01 July 2013
End Date: 30.06.2015

Visit Project Website: http://www.waste-net.info/

 

Reports and Educational Materials

 

Conferences

1st International Scientific Conference on “Sustainable Solutions to Wastewater Management Maximizing the Impact of Territorial Co-operation, June 19-21, 2015, Kavala, Greece

If you are a participant of the 1st “International Scientific Conference on “Sustainable Solutions to Wastewater Management”, please visit here for more information about accommodation.

BSBEEP-Black Sea Building Energy Efficiency Plan

American University of Armenia is a Partner for BSBEEP-Black Sea Building Energy Efficiency Plan within Joint Operational Programme “BLACK SEA BASIN 2007-2013”.

The aim of the project is to support cross border partnership for economic and social development based on combined resources and to create administrative capacity for the design and implementation of local development polices.  The project focuses on the establishment of a knowledge and experience exchange network aiming at the promotion of buildings energy efficiency.  The network will engage a wide spectrum of organizations such as local and regional authorities, universities and research centers and NGOs which will help promoting energy efficiency in the buildings at local and regional level.  Meanwhile, it will focus on raising awareness and mobilizing private sector and leverage funds to support future initiatives.

Start Date: 01 June 2013
End Date: 31 May 2015

Second Project Meeting, Yerevan, Armenia (Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Challenges and Opportunities)

 

To access the Project outcomes and reports, please click on the links below. (English version) 

GA 1 Knowledge and information collection and dissemination-Analysis of external current situation
GA 2 Preparation for implementation -Analysis of internal current situation
GA 3 Integrated planning processes and approaches-Planning, implementation and training
GA 4 Visibility of the Action
GA5 Management and coordination of the Action

Visit Project Website: www.bsbeep.com

Study Tour on Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy and Other Eco Solutions in Buildings in Armenia

YEREVAN, Armenia – Times when it was necessary to travel outside Armenia in order to see examples of modern energy efficient architecture are long gone.

From May 18 – 21, 2015, the American University of Armenia (AUA) Acopian Center for the Environment organized a national study tour on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other eco solutions in buildings for a group of 15 municipal workers, builders, academics, and NGO members from Syunik region of Armenia.

The national study tour aimed at showing municipal workers, construction companies, academics, and NGOs of Syunik region about successful implementation of solutions for energy efficiency in buildings; as well as using this national study tour as media content to raise awareness about energy efficiency in buildings nationally and in each city that participants visited. The study tour participants visited the pilot buildings by UNDP, the Avedisyan and Dilijan UWC schools and the Gyumri Caritas rehabilitation center.

“To date we have a number of successes and best practices in Armenia with respect to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and overall eco solutions to the built environment – successes that are acknowledged by world-famous environmental certification agencies and are authenticated by corresponding certifications,” said Mr. Hayk Harutyunyan, Deputy Minister of the RA Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.

Mr. Alen Amirkhanian, Director of the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment, stated, “The role of the American University of Armenia and universities overall should be to collect these practices and experiences and make them accessible and useful for the public.”

Photo Gallery

The study tour is being organized within the EU Black Sea Buildings Energy Efficiency Plan (BSBEEP) project, which aims at establishing strong regional partnerships and cooperation among Black Sea countries through the reinforcement of local administrative capacities in the sector of energy efficiency in buildings, a sector with major environmental and economic impacts locally and globally.

 

To access the Project outcomes and reports, please click on the links below. (English version) 

GA 1 Knowledge and information collection and dissemination-Analysis of external current situation
GA 2 Preparation for implementation -Analysis of internal current situation
GA 3 Integrated planning processes and approaches-Planning, implementation and training
GA 4 Visibility of the Action

 

SUAFRI-EPC: Supporting the Uptake of Agri-Food Research Results into Innovation with EPC countries

The overall aim of the SUAFRI-EPC project is to bridge the gap between Agri-Food research and innovation in Eastern Partnering Countries (EPC) by bringing together all actors of the knowledge value chain and raising their awareness on how to uptake research results into innovation. SUAFRI-EPC is supporting the Agri-Food sector and community in EPC by developing the basis for an efficient “Research to Innovation – R2I” process with the support of European partnering specialists.

The project will consist in the following activities:

The SUAFRI-EPC project aims also to cooperate with other European projects and initiatives targeting EPC countries, under ‘Cluster joint activities’. Cluster activities will consist in organising and contributing to joint events, exchange of information, and support current projects targeting EPC countries.

Pilot Project in Armenia: Production methods to optimize economical and environmental sustainability in aquaculture and apiculture sectors

This pilot project aims to develop new production methods in aquaculture and apiculture in order to optimize production costs and increase environmental sustainability. It will be implemented via training and exchange of experts between the American University of Armenia (AUA) and the Danish company Dianova.

During the first year, the activities will be focused on the topic of sustainable aquaculture. The Danish experts will organize a number of training sessions on water recirculation systems, monitoring of effluents from aquaculture facilities, disease monitoring and control systems, and quality parameters.

During the second year, the team will continue its work on aquaculture but will also exchange on apiculture topic related to the production of honey. The interest of AUA is to learn more on the formalization of existing practices on prevention of bee diseases; and the creation of guideline for honey processing.

Related articles: http://newsroom.aua.am/2014/10/19/acopian-center-works-with-danish-consultants-on-aquaculture/

Visit Project Website: http://suafri-epc.eu/

Sustainable Energy Projects at AUA Cut Costs, Reduce Carbon Footprint in Armenia

Duration:

image027Earlier this month, the American University of Armenia announced new solar water heating measures that will further reduce the institution’s carbon footprint.

The solar panels on the roof of AUA’s main building have been integrated into the facility’s domestic hot water system. As a result, about 70% of the hot water from any faucet in the building will now be heated through the use of solar energy.

The solar thermal collectors, installed between 1999-2002, have been used thus far to cool the air inside the small auditorium of the main building by a sophisticated process known as desiccant cooling. In addition to this, the panels will now be used produce hot water supply for use in the main building.

During sunny days, the solar thermal collectors produce up to 3 tons of hot water to provide for two days of water consumption in the main building.

The AUA main building also has 72 photovoltaic panels (total of 5 kW capacity) that allows AUA to produce electricity in its main building to meet the needs of the aforementioned Solar HVAC system, as well as emergency/server backup needs. Any excess generation of electricity is also sent to the national electricity grid.

A series of other measures to increase energy efficiency at the university are currently under development.

AUA Study: Mining in Armenia Creates Poverty, Income Inequality

Duration: 2004-2010

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Mine workers at the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum processing plant in Kajaran handling toxic heavy metals without breathing protection or protective gloves.  Photo by Nazik Armenakyan

Mining contributed to economic growth in Armenia between 2004-2010 while simultaneously creating income inequality and poverty. This is according to a recent study by the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment conducted in cooperation with the AUA College of Business and Economics.

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The hands of a mine worker at the molybdenum processing center at the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Plant in Kajaran. Photo by Anahit Hayrapetyan. That same man change his baby’s diaper later in the day. Photo by Nazik Armenakyan

The study’s principal researcher and author, Dr. Aleksandr Grigoryan, looks at regional-level data and reports that mining does have some positive impact on the growth of the economy.

“This supports the claim often repeated by proponents of mining that it is needed for Armenia’s economic growth,” says Dr. Grigoryan, an assistant professor of economics at AUA.

Mining and Income Inequality

Dr. Grigoryan’s analysis, however, also shows that mining contributes to higher poverty and greater income inequality. “Our analysis shows that the mining sector is likely to increase income inequality and deepen poverty in the regions of Armenia in which it operates,” states Grigoryan.

This runs counter to claims by mining proponents that the sector creates jobs that will have medium- to long-term development impact on the regions and the country.

These conflicting realities can be explained by a number of factors prevalent in Armenia’s economy, according to Grigoryan.

“Mining has been growing as a share of the Armenian economy for several years now but with the economic crisis and increase in world metal prices, mining took on a more significant role in our GDP growth,” he explains, noting that this trend is expected to continue if no other sector of the economy picks up steam.

Mining and Poverty

An increase in poverty is another observed effect of mining, a relationship that Dr. Grigoryan says needs to be studied further.

Other research on the impact of mining conducted by the AUA School of Public Health and AUA Acopian Center reports some residents claiming that property owners are forced to sell their properties at very low prices. Such occurrences, if they have taken place, would deprive villagers of an asset critical to wealth creation, according to Dr. Grigoryan.

Moreover, workers in the mining or mineral processing industries are not provided health insurance, a fact that may burden families with health costs or lower productivity.

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A young man in a hospital bed with his wife. He has a stomach ulcer and believes it’s from working at the mine. Photo by Nazik Armenakyan.

The Role of Policy

“If we are to make mining a key sector in the Armenian economy, we also have to develop the right socio-economic policies where the immediate communities and the country benefits maximally,” says Alen Amirkhanian, director of the AUA Acopian Center.

Mining and extractive industries have played a significant role in ensuring long-term and equitable growth for several countries, particularly Norway, Australia, and Botswana. “These countries have successfully used mining to raise the standard of living for a vast majority of their populations because they devised and implemented good public policy,” stresses Amirkhanian, who organized an international conference last November on the topic.

Without proper policies designed to regulate and leverage mining, Armenia will continue on a path that follows mining models that enrich a few while depriving larger numbers of current and future generations of opportunities to benefit from their patrimony, states Amirkhanian.

According to the Armenian Statistical Service, in 2011, Armenia’s mining industry employed 15,500 workers or about 1% of the country’s total employment and contributed to about 3% of the its GDP.

AUA is organizing another international scientific conference on “Emerging Issues in Environmental and Occupational Health.”  The conference, set for April 22-23, will bring leading experts from around the world to Yerevan to explore the impact of mining and construction in transition economies such as Armenia. The research they present will provide solutions to the occupational and environmental health problems facing workers, communities and children and help craft public policy to address these issues.

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Cow drinking water from at the Artsvanik tailing pond from the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum mine in Kajaran. Photo by Nazik Armenakyan

The photos included are from the “Investigative Photojournalism for Human Rights and Clear Environment” project, made possible through the assistance of the Open Society Foundations- Armenia. The project was implemented by Socioscope NGO.

 

ReGardening of Eden

Duration:

image001The concept came about through a concerned collaboration between the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment and Armenia Tree Project.

The goal is to restore the village of Margahovit, Lori marz, to its former beauty. The project will comprise three main elements: (i) the establishment of a local park, (ii) creation of a sustainable trash collection and recycling program and, perhaps most importantly, (iii) the education of local children and adult residents in the significance of environmental stewardship. Then, as the trees grow, the flowers bloom, and the birds return to the garden, trainings on bird watching and the appreciation of nature will also follow.

For more information please visit the website: http://www.regardeningofeden.org/

 

 

Saving Armenian Gull

Duration: 

Birds of Armenia Project (AUA)
Lake Sevan 1999

Armenian Gull breeds in lakes Sevan and Arpi in Armenia. At Lake Sevan it breeds in “Gull islands” which, as a result of constant water  level lowering in the lake, joined the coast by the end of 1990-s, thus turning into a peninsula and  has become open to predators and domestic cattle. Predators such as foxes and stray dogs caused much harm to Gulls by eating their eggs and nestlings. As for domestic animals, they trampled down the eggs wandering around the island.

The island became open to tourists who frightened the birds and raised panic among them. That harmful circumstance, as it may seem at first sight, had the most fatal consequences: eggs were getting too cold during the first period of nesting and in the period of mass hatching the frightened birds were leaving their nests. The parents in the useless search of their nestlings were pecking the other lost nestlings to death.

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The only way to rescue the Armenian Gull was to turn its nesting into an island again. For that purpose, it was necessary to remove the isthmus, digging a channel between the island and the coast. Unfortunately, the corresponding departments didn’t take active part in it for certain reasons, though they were well aware of the urgent need of isolation of the nesting place.

Thus, on 14 May, 1999, the project workers, equipping themselves with corresponding techniques, conducted land-utilizing works by digging 18 meters wide breach and 0.8-2.3 meters deep strait.

In the same year we organized a pilot monitoring of the nesting place of the Armenian Gull in “Gull islands” which testified that our efforts were not vain. The eggs and nestlings were saved! As a result, the generation of Armenian Gull was conserved.

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Making of the channel

Each year before the beginning of nesting season we visit the island and measure the depth and width of the strait in order to step in again in case of need.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

 

 

Competition “At my bird feeder”/”Birds in my backyard”, Winter-Spring Season

Duration: 2003-present

Acopian Center for the Environment
In cooperation with various NGOs and state bodies

Introduction

image001Today, most of the faced environmental problems are the result of lack of environmental education. It is very important to start environmental education in the school period, with this appropriate attitude will be developed at an early age. However, as we know, children like to play, but not to learn. Accordingly, the education should be designed as a game, and not like a lesson. For such type of interactive education, the watching of the birds is of high advantage such as competition, joy and safe and a way of close interaction with nature. In winter, as many birds come to the cities, towns and villages with the hope to find some food, it is easy to close distance for watching them by attracting their attention with food. Bird feeders are preferable to be made by children because of two purposes: education of children and feeding of the birds, and participation and help of the parents in the process. It will be also an indirect support to develop positive attitude to birds, which is very important and actual nowadays in panic conditions concerning to threat of avian influenza.

Background

image005In December of 2003 “Birds of Armenia” project together with Ecoclub “Ani” of Saint Akob Curch in Gyumri have started winter competition titled “At my bird feeder…” Children from different schools of Gyumri made feeders and placed them in the backyards and parks. Then, they painted pictures of birds in winter, wrote stories about birds and sent them to us together with the photos of feeders they made. Judges chose the best paintings and stories and the winners of the competition got prices (binoculars, books about birds, etc). Presentation of the results took place on the International Bird Day, which we made the mid of April of 2004 in the Central Park of Gyumri. More than 200 children with their parents and friends joined us during the event, so that the next year we enlarged the borders of the competition and involved Yerevan, Vanadzor, Stepanavan and Gyumri. We closely cooperated with our partners who helped us to organize the competition: EcoClub “Ani” in Gyumri, Yerak NGO in Vanadzor, and LTEIC NGO in Stepanavan.  We also put new nomination “The best observation” in the competition. In this time more than 2000 people joined us and we conducted International Bird Day Celebration in all four cities. One of the competitors made exclusive feeder, and received official governmental patent license for 15 years. From 2006 to 2007 environmental oriented Peace Corp volunteers also were involved in the project. They were the representatives of “Birds In My Backyard” competition, each in their own villages or towns. Starting from 2006 more then 48 volunteers were involved in the project from different parts of Armenia.

image003From the period of 2008-2009 we started to cooperate with governance offices in different regions and with “National Center for Educational Technologies” a state non trade organization, therefore we involved more children, as they were supporting in spreading information.

Based on the experience we have, we can say that really enjoy participating in such kind of activities involving their parents in feeder making process, which is more important as a part of indirect adult education.

Goals and objectives

We would like to enlarge the competition and involve some more sites where Peace Corp volunteers are operating and not only environmental oriented Peace Corp volunteers but all of them. The main goal is to involve as many children as possible in the competition and make their participation active. For this purpose we suggest the following:

Methods

We will conduct two-three seminars with our partners to discuss the difficulties and solutions of previous actions and train them for this year.

With the help of our partners, we will distribute the announcement about competition as well as appropriate instructions (how to make feeders, what kind of food birds prefer, etc.) among the schools in all the towns and cities where Peace Corp volunteers are operating.

Also a radio interviews were also broadcast where the children themselves told about the competition and the stories of how they helped the birds during the cold winter months.

With the help of our partners, we will collect competition works and the Judges will choose the best ones. In the middle of the winter after Christmas we remind all partners and schools about importance of feeding birds.

In the beginning of April, we will conduct Celebration of International Bird Day, where the winners will be announced and the prices will be handed to them.

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Results and the measurement

Increased number of competition works and their increasing quality will serve as an estimation of their participation activity. The bird-feeder-watchers’ activity will be measured by the number of received bird photos at feeders. During the time provided more then 4000 schoolchildren from 360 schools participated in the competition. What is worth mentioning is that the teachers and the parents of the children also took active part in the feeder making process.

Awarding ceremony

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Awarding of the most active PC volunteer

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Pictures of winners 2008

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Amirkhanyan Ani

Balagyozyan RafikOveyan Mariam

Photos of winners 2009

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Stepanyan ArmanMaghakyan KarenGrigoryan Mikayel

In 2008-2009 in the frames of the competition schools in their initiative organized various events in  schools and  parks of Yerevan. Children took part in a performance singing songs about birds, and described in a unique way the specifications of different birds. Some schools put the feeders in the yard of the school and some took it to the Lovers` Park.

School events

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 In the yard of the schoolPlay in the schoolIn Park

Winners of 2008-2009 were taken to Armenian Tree Project for educational purpose.

Celebration of winners 2009

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Awarding ceremonyOn the way to ATPATP nursery

Schoolchildren were very excited by visiting the nursery and having a small descriptive lecture about   plants and tree species growing there, and also they had a discussion on the environmental issues of Armenia and in general.

Group photo

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Winners together

Bird Identification Training Course

Duration: 2004-present
Acopian Center for the Environment

The course is teaching how to identify different bird species and how to observe them in nature. The course is aimed at all levels starting from a beginner and consists of PowerPoint presentations teaching basics of identification of various bird groups and families, plumage variations by age and seasons. It also includes several field trips, with provided optical equipment. At the end of the course, the best students get an Armenian book “A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia”.

Course for Beginners

This course consists of 30 lessons where the students learn identification of more than 100 bird species in breeding plumages. The duration of each lesson is 1 hour from Sep to May with meetings scheduled once per week. During the course we have 3 field trips to Lake Sevan, Lori district and Aragats mountain where we can observe bird species, studied during the lectures.

Description of the course

Each lesson consists of the description of several species by painting and training part, when students try to identify known birds by photos, which are following each other after 15 sec. During the course, students learn Identification of different Ducks, Raptors, Woodpeckers, Passerines etc. (see below) image002image004

After passing the test students receive appropriate certificates.

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Advanced Course

The advanced course consisted of 30 lessons where students learn how to identify more bird species as well as the known birds in different plumages. In total, they learned to identify more than 200 species. The duration of each lesson was 1 hour from Sep 18 to May 30 with meetings scheduled once per week. During the course, we had 3 field trips to Armash fish-farming ponds, Noravank gorge and Dilijan forest where we could observe such bird species, as Herons, Falcons, Finches, etc.

History

2004

Bird Identification Training Course was initiated in 2004 with 1 group of students that consisted of 15 people. The experiment was very successful and we decided to continue it in autumn of 2005. We posted announcements in different high schools and universities of Yerevan.

2005

 image009In 2005, over 90 people joined the Beginning Course as first-year students. They were divided into 4 different groups, where the classes were held in three languages: Armenian, English and Russian.

 

image011In total, we had 3 field excursions to the Sevan, Aragats mountain, and Lori regions.

We had three field excursions to SevanLake where we observed some water birds.

2006-2009

Over 160 students

All courses were carried out in three languages (Armenian, English, Russian) and conducted for local as well as foreign students. The courses were held in a friendly and enthusiastic atmosphere irrespectively of the students’ age, which varies from 12 to 68 y.o.

 

 

Field Training for the Students of Natural History Department of Quantum College in Aghavnadzor

Duration: 

Birds of Armenia project
Quantum college

Each year Quntum Qollege of Armenia organizes a military-patriotic camp for its students. In the year of 2004, a Natural Scientific branch was also launched in the camp where several students had a biological training.

The branch was created by a group of students with the support of the Quntum director Robert Vardanyan, and the supervisor of the Natural Sciences branch Levon Asatryan with direct participation and coordination of the employees of the Birds of Armenia Project. During the second quarter of 2004 seminars and regular weekly training on Avifauna of the Caucasus and particularly of Armenia were held. At the end of the year, we organized and carried out a biological practice for the elder students (those studying in the 8th and 9th grades). A decision was made to research the birds in Aghavnadzor. For this purpose, a field trip to Tsakhkunyats ridge was organized under the supervision of BOA project senior scientist Karen Aghababyan and a child/teenage tourism tutor of BOA Vladimir Shamenkov.

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image005The trip lasted for seven days during which the weather was mainly cloudy and rainy although it was also sunny for some short period of times. Right before the trip, the students had training preparing them for the practical work. The participants were introduced to the biologist field equipment, learned how to use binoculars and a telescope and were taught bird identification skills.

During the first day, we passed across the ridge went out from a broad-leaved forest into a subalpine meadow and settled the first camp in the higher border of the birch grove. The next day we moved to another place for the camp since the first one was not really convenient. We found here a nest of a Great Tit (Parus major), built in a pipe of the pavilion where there were 5 rather grown up nestlings.

 

In the result of the trip, 103 species of birds were identified 3 of which were identified in that region for the first time. It is the Pernis apivorus, Otus scops, which was found by its voice  Emberiza melanocephala.

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Winter Bird Count

Duration: 2005-present

Acopian Center for the Environment (ACE)
Participants: ACE staff and invited volunteers

The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment in cooperation with volunteers and enthusiasts from different fields, organized winter bird count in Yerevan Botanical garden.

Botanical garden is one of the largest green territories in Yerevan city with half-wild oases. There are several notable species of birds breeding there, such as Levant Sparrowhawk, Hobby, Long-eared Owl, Syrian Woodpecker, Golden Oriole, Common Nightingale, Greenfinch etc. Food availability compels winter bird species to come down and stay in the garden during the winter.

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The main aim of the count is to monitor:

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We have been organizing annual winter bird count in Botanical garden starting from 2005. It lasts for about three months from the end of November till the end of December, and is conducted ones a week. Every count day in early morning we pass the same route with 1km length, during this we record all encountered bird species, their number, the approximate distance between the bird and observer, angle, height and their behavior. After passing the main count route we explore other parts of the territory for the species, which have been possibly missed earlier.

After several years it will be possible to analyze some details depending on winter birds in Yerevan and analyze the effectiveness of linear count in comparison with diffusion watch and count.

This count gives us an opportunity to record strictly wintering bird species such us Redwing, Fieldfare, Common Goldcrest, European Siskin, etc.

Participation in winter bird count is a good experience for beginners: “Bird Identification Training”’ (ACE) students, student-zoologists and enthusiasts, who are interested in birds. This gives them an opportunity to study linear bird count technique and to improve bird identification skills. Every year about 8-12 young people join our winter bird counts.

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List of recorded bird species in Botanical garden

(2005 – 2009)

  1. Eurasian Sparrowhawk
  2. Common Buzzard
  3. Common Kestrel
  4. Common Woodpigeon
  5. Rock Dove
  6. Syrian Woodpecker
  7. Middle Spotted Woodpecker
  8. European Green Woodpecker
  9. Dunnock
  10. European Robin
  11. Redwing
  12. Mistle Thrush
  13. Fieldfare
  14. Common Blackbird
  15. Common Goldcrest
  16. Blue Tit
  17. Great Tit
  18. Eurasian Jay
  19. Common Magpie
  20. Western Jackdaw
  21. Rook
  22. Hooded Crow
  23. Common Raven
  24. House Sparrow
  25. Eurasian Tree Sparrow
  26. Common Chaffinch
  27. European Greenfinch
  28. European Goldfinch
  29. European Siskin
  30. Brambling
  31. Common Linnet
  32. Hawfinch
  33. Yellowhammer
  34. Rock Bunting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monitoring of Raptors in the Forest of Aragats Mountain

Duration: 2005-2006 

Acopian Center for the Environment
Yerevan State University

In 2005 we have started a pilot survey of raptors at the forest area of AragatsMountain. We would like to find out possibilities of long term monitoring of raptor species. One of the main objectives of the project was the practical independent research education of the students of YerevanStateUniversity and PedagogicalUniversity. All the work of the field year of 1995 was performed by the BA last year students Maro Kochinyan and Hayk Harutyunyan. They were assisted by a couple of younger students and several volunteers of the “Birds of Armenia” project. The research was done under the direct supervision of senior scientific researcher Karen Aghababyan. In the course of the research 6 long term field trips were held in the research region.

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Forest area of Aragats mountain

The forest area of Aragats is rather small but includes nearly all diurnal forest raptor species found in Armenia.

Particularly we found the following species:

 

Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus – 1*
Black Kite Milvus migrans – 1
Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus – 1
Common Buzzard Buteo buteo – 4
Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina – 1
Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus – 1
Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus – 2
Goshawk Accipiter gentilis – 1

 

*quantity is given in pairs

Nestlings of Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

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Photos of “Raptors of Aragats” project

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Nest of Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina        Eggs of Lesser Spotted Eagle  Aquila pomarina
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Nest of Common Buzzard Buteo buteo Eggs of Common Buzzard Buteo buteo
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Nest tree of Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus                                  Egg of Short-toed Eagle, Circaetus gallicus

 

Below is the copy of article published in Russian Conservation News No.39 Summer 2005

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Monitoring of Long-legged Buzzard’s Population in Armenia

Duration: 2006-2008

Acopian Center for the Environment
Yerevan State University
State Pedagogical University

Birds of prey are excellent environmental indicators and flagship species for natural-resource conservation. Increasing of Armenian agriculture and other blanches of industry can have a negative impact to environment. To track the possible influence of industry to our nature we would like to start monitoring of subpopulations of model species in some regions of Armenia.

As a species to be monitored we have chosen Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus) because it is most common rodent-eating bird that breeds in whole Armenia.

It will include mapping of nests, and survey of reproductive success. In 2006 we will conduct a pilot survey to see how many nests we can find.

Then in 2007 and later on we will investigate their feeding, reproductive success and analyze collected data on GIS Arc View.

The project will include education of local inhabitants about importance of rodent-eating raptors for agriculture and nature ecosystems.

The surveys were conducted by students, who have completed BITC courses in AcopianCenter for the Environment.

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Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus, outskirts of Gusana village, Shirak region of Armenia, Sep 9 2005.

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Distribution map of the Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus in Armenia

Results:

The Long-legged Buzzard (hereinafter LLB, Buteo rufinus) in Armenia was studied during 2006-2008 in frames of general bird survey trips and special trips aimed searching of the LLB nests. The study area covers some districts in central part of Armenia. The distances between the nests (nearest neighbour distance) vary in different regions of Armenia: in Vedi district the mean distance is 1.98±0,19km (n=10) while in Vayots Dzor region the mean distance is 3.04±0.3km (n=5); t=3.14, p=0.008. The difference in density seems correlated with steepness of surrounding area, since the Vedi district is generally more flat, than the Vayots Dzor region, which indicates that probably LLB prefer habitats with less steepness of slopes. Most probably it depends on hunting technique of LLB, which catches the prey on the ground dropping down from 5-10m. The other limiting factor is cliff availability, since in Armenia LLB breeds only on cliffs. Although LLB does not show dependence on the height of the cliffs and can place the nest on the height from 2 to 30m, it does not breed on trees, like in some parts of its area in Siberia.

The concluding results of the studies will be presented as an article on the International Raptor Conference in autumn 2009 in Switzerland.

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In the frames of the study a GIS shape file was developed, covering all cliffs and rocky massifs of the entire territory of Armenia.

 

 


Relevant publication
:

Some habitat preferences of Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus) in Armenia
Hovanisyan, T., Janoyan, G., Schaefer, M., Aghababyan, K.

 

Endemic Wheats of Armenia Project

Duration: 2008

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAArmenia, although a small country, is very rich in wild relatives of cultivars, including the ancestors and donors of such important cultivated plants as bread cereals. The study of wild species of wheat, barley, goat grass, rye and others of the cereal crops represents a large practical interest. Progenitors of cultivars are often carriers of valuable attributes and features, such as high drought and frost resistance, the ability to grow on relatively poor soils, and resistance to pests and disease. That is why wild relatives are valuable material for the selection of new varieties of cultivated plants.

In addition to this, purely in practical terms, the study of wild relatives of cereal crops are of particular help in understanding the path by which many thousands of years ago the creation of the modern cultivated grasses from wild cereal crops took place, and in giving a more precise definition to the regions where the agricultural civilization arose. From that viewpoint, the study of the history of domestic bread cereals helps to shed light not only on the history of agriculture but on the history of humans in a broad sense.

Conserving the rich gene pool of wild relatives of wheat cultivars in Armenia is an urgent concern, as more and more land is disturbed by growing economic activity, land privatization, and other factors. Therefore, it is extremely important to evaluate the different Armenian populations of wheat and other cereals and to conserve this valuable material. This can be achieved through periodic population monitoring, conservation in situ, and through the collection of seed material for preservation ex-situ.

Previously, botanists have conducted numerous comprehensive studies of cereal crops, and also led archaeobotanical excavations which shed light on the relatively early stages of the domestication of grasses. This current project will facilitate more comprehensive studies of the populations of wild cereal crops through the use of modern cytogenetic and molecular biology methods.

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Maps

ACE (Acopian Center for the Environment, Tom Lyman & Meike Schaefer)
ECODIT (Environmental Consulting Agency, Kurt Sanderson)

The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment produced the maps for the USAID Armenia Biodiversity Analysis Update Report compiled by ECODIT in December 2008. The following maps were produced and submitted to the Biodiversity Analysis Team Leader:

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– Country map with administrative areas
– Map of forest reserves
– Map of climate, rainfall and soils
– Map of ecological landscapes
– Map of mineral resources
– Map of water resources (incl. Ramsar sites)
– Map of protected areas
– Map of deforestation rates
– Map of geological features
– Map of vegetation zones
– Map of mining sites
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The Effect of Pesticides on the Populations of Peregrine Falcon in Meghri District of Southern Armenia

Duration: 2008

Acopian Center for the Environment (ACE)
Participants: ACE staff and volunteers
Meghri forestry administration

The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment with the support of Peregrine Fund and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in 2008 have conducted  a survey of Peregrine Falco in Meghri district.

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Red field – study areaPeregrine nest sites

Objectives:

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Peregrine Falcon оn the nesting cliff

 

Results:

Two long term field trips were organized to the Meghri region, during March and May 2008.

We visited six known nest sites and three assumed ones.

For all of the observed breeding territories various parameters were recorded, such as GPS data, habitat description, elevation a.s.l., slope and aspect, and the height above the ground for the nests, behavior of breeding birds, nestlings and fledglings, food resource, Peregrine competition with other raptors. A number of birds, nests and biotope photos were taken.

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Peregrine Falcon nesting cliffs in the semidesert and forest areas

From all the six known Peregrine nests in Meghri region only one successful pair with two fledglings were found, one site was occupied with two adults, but there were no young, and another site with only one adult bird. All other sites were unoccupied.

Analyzing these data and comparing it with previous ones the decline of Peregrine population in Meghri region becomes obvious. We assume that the main reason for the decline is the poisoning, such as sedimentary reservoirs of the copper, molybdenum and gold mines; use of pesticides for agriculture; forest management in frames of pest control.

During the whole project we worked with the local people from Meghri forestry administration and local enthusiasts. This co-operation helped us to do the data collection more effectively and to explain some details about poisoning and poaching.

Two articles on Peregrine Falcon research results are in process of  publication.

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Peregrine Falcon Meghri forestry administration

Table 1. Peregrine Falco in Meghri region, breeding pairs

 

Lehvaz FPLGVZ1Meghri FPMGR1Agarak FPAGR1 FPAGR2Gravi Dzor FPGRV1Burtinqar FPBRT1 FPBRT2 Nyuvadi AXNVD1
19963 nestling
FPAGR1
19974 nestling
FPAGR1
1998empty3 nestling3 nestling
FPAGR2
1999
2000empty4 nestling4 nestling
FPAGR2
3 juv.
2001empty3 nestling2 ad2 ad
20022 nestling2 ad
20032 ad2 ad2 ad2 ad
20042 ad2 ad2 ad
2005

2006
20074 nestling

20081 ad
0 nestling
2 nestlingemptyempty2 ad 0 nestlingempty
20092 ad 0 nestling3 nestlingemptyvoice of ad

During the Peregrine Falcon survey we also collected data about Bearded Vulture and Eurasian Griffon nests and breeding success. Comparing data on Griffon with previous ones, increase in breeding pairs and fledglings has been found in some colonies. Also one new colony was found. Bearded Vulture population remained stable.

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Adult Griffon on the nest

Griffon Vulture

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 Bearded Vulture

 Bearded Vulture nest

Monitoring Dissolved Oxygen in the Hrazdan River

Duration: 2007-2008

Acopian Center for the Environment
Washington University

image001The Hrazdan River is the primary waterway in Armenia and country’s second largest river.  While the Hrazdan receives effluent from various agricultural, commercial, industrial, and residential sources, it is most significantly impacted by the discharge of Yerevan’s almost entirely untreated wastewater.  The effects of this poorly treated wastewater are evident through a variety of water quality indicators, most notably through drastic drops in dissolved oxygen (DO) levels downstream of the city.

The aim of this study was to quantify the effect Yerevan’s wastewater discharge have on health of the Hrazdan River by monitoring dissolved oxygen levels in an 18-km stretch that began two kilometers upstream of the wastewater outfalls.

Water quality sampling was conducted from March to August 2008.  DO levels consistently dropped to below 5% of the saturated dissolved oxygen level (the maximum oxygen content achievable at the given temperature and pressure) and to levels well below those permitting a healthy aquatic ecosystem.  DO levels achieved partial re-aeration within the first 10 kilometers after the wastewater outfall, but they depreciated again, likely due to continued biological oxygen demand from agricultural runoff.  The 16 kilometers downstream of the wastewater outfalls in the study area were not sufficient for the river to achieve full re-aeration.

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Additional water quality, hydrologic, biological, atmospheric, and observational data was also collected during the course of this study and may later be used to generate a predictive model of the DO content of the river under different scenarios.

Invasive Species in Native and Non-native Ranges

Duration: 2007-2008  

Armenia, ECRC/AUA
USA, University of Montana, University of California
Argentina, Universidad Nacional de La Pamba
Turkey, Adnan Menderes University
Georgia, Institute of Botany
Romania, Institute Of Biological Research
Hungary, Insttute of Ecology and Botany

General view of the experimental field in Armenia

General view of the experimental field in Armenia

Studying germination in the native and non-native range of a species can provide unique insights into processes of range expansion and adaptation; however, traits related to germination have rarely been compared between native and nonnative populations. In a series of common garden experiments, we explored whether differences in the seasonality of precipitation, specifically, summer drought vs summer rain, and the amount and variation of annual and seasonal precipitation affect the germination responses of populations of an annual ruderal plant, Centaurea solstitialis, from its native range and from two non-native regions with different climates. We found that seeds from all native populations, irrespective of the precipitation seasonality of the region in which they occurred, and non-native populations from regions with dry summers displayed similarly high germination proportions and rates. In contrast, genotypes from the non-native region with predominantly summer rain exhibited much lower germination fractions and rates and ecology. Organisms transported by humans to regions where they are not native (exotics) commonly face novel selective forces, which given enough genetic variation, may trigger novel evolutionary responses. The worldwide distribution of this species encompasses environments with contrasting precipitation regimes within both native and non-native ranges. Specifically, some of the regions where C. solstitialis grows are characterized by a Mediterranean-type climate with wet winters and dry summers, whereas other regions have a precipitation regime in which most of the precipitation falls during the summer, and winters are substantially drier. In all regions, the species germinates primarily in autumn (Sheley and Larson 1994, Hierro et al. 2006, L. Khetsuriani, L. Janoian and K. Andonian unpubl.); thus, winter conditions may affect its survival. Here, by conducting a series of common garden experiments in a growth chamber, we investigated whether contrasting differences in the seasonality of precipitation and changes in surrogates for environmental quality (e.g. precipitation totals) and risk (e.g. inter-annual variation in precipitation) affect germination responses of C. solstitialis populations occurring across its native range and in two climatically distinct non-native regions.

To investigate the potential effects of seasonality of precipitation on C. solstitialis germination, we conducted three successive seed collections from populations occurring in regions exepte France, Crete and Armenia, where seeds were pooled within populations. Mean cumulative germination percentages (91 SE) of pappus and non-pappus seeds of C. solstitialis populations plotted against the coefficient of variation of winter precipitation and the probability of occurring a good winter.

Pappus seeds maintained a strong association with variation in winter precipitation (r__0.91, pB0.001), but this relationship did not hold for nonpappus seeds (r__0.36, p_0.172). In addition, germination of both pappus and non-pappus seeds were no longer correlated with the probability of good winters (r_0.44, p_0.117 and r_0.11, p_0.387, respectively). Without Argentina, the association between germination proportions of pappus seeds and variation in annual precipitation improved slightly (r__0.70, p_0.017), whereas the correlation of these proportions with the probability of good years remained non-significant (r_0.39, p_0.150). Finally, as before, germination fractions of non-pappus seeds were not correlated with any of the measures of annual risk, and germination percentages of both seed morphs were not associated with any of the measures describing environmental quality (p_0.250 in all cases).

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Clines in these studies corresponded to variation in general climatic patterns, such as changes in climate between northern and southern latitudes (Maron et al. 2004, 2007) or between coastal versus inland environments . In contrast to these results, our comparisons based on general climatic patterns (i.e. summer drought vs summer rain) did not detect parallel clines in germination traits for populations from native and non-native ranges, as all native populations, irrespective of the climate in which they occurred, and non-native populations from the region with a summer-drought climate displayed similarly high germination proportions and rates; whereas non-native genotypes from the region with a summer rain regime exhibited much lower germination fractions and rates. On the other hand, our comparisons based on precipitation variables, which are commonly used as surrogates for environmental quality and risk, showed that for the most abundant seed morph, seeds with a pappus, germination responses of populations in both native and non-native ranges correlated strongly with ‘risk’ experienced during the winter. Specifically, and as predicted by bethedging theory, germination fractions of pappus seeds were lower in native and non-native populations experiencing greater inter-annual variation in winter precipitation (Fig. 4). For non-pappus seeds, however, this correlation was greatly influenced by non-native genotypes from central Argentina, which are from the region with the highest variation in winter precipitation of all the studied regions and exhibited the lowest proportions of germinating seeds in all our experiments (Fig. 2_4); after removing central Argentina from analyses, there was no association between germination fractions of non-pappus seeds and winter precipitation variation. Similarly, germination fractions of both pappus and non-pappus seeds correlated with probability of occurrence of good winters only in the presence of Argentinean variables. Overall, these findings suggest that rather than general climatic patterns, the degree of risk experienced at early developmental stages could exert an important control over the germination strategy of C. solstitialis populations in both native and non-native ranges. In addition, they reveal the largely unique nature among studied populations of seed germination in nonnative genotypes from central Argentina. Germination fractions of pappus seeds were also correlated with variation in annual precipitation, suggesting that overall annual risk could also play a role in the germination behavior of C. solstitialis populations. Indeed, populations experiencing comparable variation in winter precipitation in the native and non-native range tended to display similar germination fractions for this seed type . In contrast, for non-pappus seeds the link between degree of dormancy and level of winter risk does not hold when outlier Argentinean variables are removed from analyses, providing weaker support for bet-hedging across C. solstitialis populations.

Several mechanisms could be responsible for the genetic differentiation in germination traits of Californian versus Argentinean populations, including coincidental introductions, genetic drift, and natural selection operating on phenotypes formed by either a novel combination of genes  or pre-adapted genotypes (i.e. the sorting-out hypothesis _ Mu¨ller-Scha¨rer and Steinger 2004; see Leger and ice 2007 for a comprehensive discussion on these mechanisms). Outcrossing plants partition most of their genetic diversity within, rather than among, populations, which increases the probability of possessing high genetic variation upon introduction because even a few immigrants can carry much of the species’ genetic variation.

 

Full article available in  Oikos 118: 529_538, 2009

doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2009.17283.x,

# 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation # 2009 Oikos

Subject Editor: Pia Mutikainen. Accepted 31 October 2008

“Germination responses of an invasive species in native and non-native ranges”

Jose´ L. Hierro, O¨zkan Eren, Liana Khetsuriani, Alecu Diaconu, Katalin To¨ro¨ k, Daniel Montesinos,

Krikor Andonian, David Kikodze, Levan Janoian, Diego Villarreal, Marı´a E. Estanga-Mollica and Ragan M. Callaway

Winter Feeding of Water Birds on Yerevan Lake

Duration: 2002-present 

ACE (American University of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia)
Yerevan city municipality

Winter is the most unfavorable period for birds, especially for water birds. Low temperatures, difficult access to food, and short duration of daylight hours serve as the basic negative factors in this period for the vital activity of birds.  In addition to natural difficulties, ducks in Armenia also bear anthropogenic influences – among them the construction of on-shore reservoirs, hunting, and poaching out of the hunting season.

A large number of wild ducks gather on YerevanLake. According to the winter water bird counting done by specialists on LakeSevan and Ararat valley, comparatively fewer wild ducks are left in these places, because they are constantly troubled by fishing boats on LakeSevan and they are harassed and shot by hunters and poachers in Ararat valley. Fortunately, on YerevanLake these types of disturbance are absent. Nevertheless, ducks still have to fly from YerevanLake to the water reservoirs of Ararat valley in search of food and there they often fall by hunters’ bullets.

Starting from 2002, we have conducted annual winter feeding for water birds in order to keep the ducks on YerevanLake

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We use special dry mixtures composed of mixed fodder of barley and oats as well as crumbled dry bread and bread products. We put the bird feeding manger approximately in the middle of the lake and feed the birds once per week. We take sacks of forage on a boat to the floating manger. In addition we survey the bird species composition and count the number of birds on the lake.

We are particularly pleased that school children join us to help us with our feeding procedure. The children, during the feeding activity, also work with trained ornithologists to learn to identify and to appreciate birds in their natural setting.

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A special pleasant surprise came in 2008 when we received an initiation for a joint-duck-feeding project on YerevanLake with YerevanCity Hall. This has been the first case when we did not seek help from the administrative structures but the administration itself suggested working together.  The City Hall provided financial support for obtaining the forage and transporting it to YerevanLake.  Their support demonstrates that communities can work together in the difficult task of nature protection.

Distribution, Abundance and Habitat Preferences of Lesser Spotted Eagles in Armenia

The Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) inhabits almost all deciduous forest regions of Armenia. Some fragmental data regarding distribution and abundance of the species were collected in different periods (Leister and Sosnin 1942, Dal 1954, Adamian and Klem 1999) and the breeding biology was studied on the pare in Khosrov Nature Reserve (Geylikman, Hunanyan 1975). Due to economic and energy crisis and following economic growth in Armenia from 1990-s until now the land use pattern and the forest management in Armenia was strongly altered. The mentioned factors might have a negative impact on the large forest raptor species since they are more vulnerable and sensitive to changes in their habitat. Considering that the following objectives were chosen for particular study: (1) to refine knowledge on distribution and abundance of Lesser Spotted Eagle in Armenia; (2) to study habitat preferences of the species; (3) to identify current and potential threats for the species.

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Foraging Lesser Spotted Eagle

 

 

Results

Based on the data collected during 1998-2007 it was possible to conclude the following:

1. Distances between neighboring nests are 14. 2 and 14. 3 km (based on 4 nests)

2. The average distance between the nest and limits of the hunting territory of a pair is 4. 05±0.39 km (n = 15, P<0. 05)

3. The average percentage of the forest cover within the species’ home range is 26. 07±3. 89 % (n = 15, P<0. 05);

4) There is a correlation between percentage of forest cover within the home range and the distance from the nest to the limits of hunting territory of Lesser Spotted Eagle (RPearson = 0. 548, P<0. 017)

5) The correlation can be described by the linear regression model (R = 0.548, F=5. 581, P<0. 034).

Extrapolation of these data for the rest of appropriate species’ habitats in Armenia outcomes in the maximum possible population size of the species in the country, which preliminary can be estimated as about 48-52 pairs.

The species in Armenia is facing to a number of direct and indirect threats, such as lack of enforced regulation in use of pesticides, poaching, human disturbance during breeding season and habitat loss.

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Habitat of the Lesser Spotted Eagle(left) and its nest on the oak tree(right)

 

Outcomes

1. The article regarding the subject was published. K. Aghababyan, V. Ananian, S. Tumanyan. 2008. To the Distribution and Abundance of Lesser Spotted Eagles in Armenia. // Research and Conservation of the Greater and Lesser Spotted Eagles in Northern Eurasia. Materials 5th Conference on Raptors of Northern Eurasia Ivanovo, February 4-7, 2008

2. Two amateur ornithologists (Sirnush Tumanyan and Tatevik Tamazyan) were trained in data collection and analysis and one of them, a student of Biological Department of Yerevan State University defended Master’s Thesis on the subject “To ecology of Lesser Spotted Eagles in Armenia”

3. The results of the project were used for the new edition of the Red Data Book of Armenia and would be useful for the future forest management planning and environmental assessment procedures.

Advanced GIS Training for Health Professionals

image003Acopian Center for the Environment – ACE
Center for Health Services Research and Development, Byron Crape – CHSR
Innovations in Support of Reproductive Health Project  NOVA
usaid

An advanced ArcGIS training for fifteen representatives from a total of eight health organizations in Armenia took place from May 11-14, 2009 at the computer lab of the American University of Armenia. The advanced GIS training was subcontracted to The Acopian Center for the Environment by USAID Project NOVA in the frame of “GIS in Health Training and Workshop for the Armenian Organizations for policy formulation, datadriven decision-making, planning, monitoring and evaluation”.

Training was conducted by Mr. Thomas Lyman, M.Ed., Senior GIS/GPS Specialist at the AcopianCenter for the Environment and by Mr. Byron L. Crape, MSPH, PhD from the School of Public Health at AUA.  They were assisted by Ms Meike Schaefer, M.Sc., GIS Specialist  at the AcopianCenter for the Environment, AUA, Mr Armen Asryan, MIS, from USAID project NOVA, and Ms. Anahit Bobikyan, translator.

Advanced GIS Training

The advanced GIS training was complemented by and built on the introductory training given by Mr. Armen Asryan the previous week. It was expected that all participants were familiar with the concept  of Geographic Information Systems, the particular configuration of ArcGIS 9.2, and the basic tools and  functions of this software. The Advanced GIS Training for Health Professionals  included practice in using many of the common tools and extensions for analyzing data, joining object features (OIDs) such as EXCEL Tables,  DBF, and CSV files to spatial features (FIDs), and editing files and tables to update and “populate” fields where data was missing.

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Roundtable

Following the GIS training, participants were asked to prepare presentations to be given at a Roundtable Discussion held the following week, again at AUA.  These presentations were based on actual health data supplied by their own organizations or from the training material provided by NOVA, using the tools and techniques covered in the two GIS training workshops.

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The projects (five in all) were presented at the Round Table / Workshop on May 20, 2009. During this workshop, the importance of GIS for decision making and health strategic planning was discussed in depth and recommendations for GIS applications in Armenia were presented by the participants. The need for further cooperation with and among the participants (especially RA MoH, NIH and NSS) was recognized and the need for standardized and consistent health data acquisition was stressed.

 

 

Levant Sparrowhawk Pilot Survey in Armenia

Duration: 2009

 ACE (American University of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia)
ACCL (Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, PA, USA)

The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment in cooperation with Acopian Center for the Conservation Learning (Hawk Mountain Sanctuary) in 2009 conducted a pilot nest survey of Levant Sparrowhawk – one of the least known Western Palearctic raptors.

Several long term trips were organized to Aragats Mt and Meghri area, Yerevan city parks were surveyed as well on a frequent basis.

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Red fields – study areas 

Field trips took substantial part of the project during April – August.

The main aims of the survey were:

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The surveys have successfully resulted in overall 17 breeding sites/pairs:

 1. Aragats Mt slopes. No nest found and no territorial pair observed here in 2009.

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2. Yerevan city. 6 breeding sites found, of which:

a) one nest was lost because of the strong wind;
b) one nest wasn’t found, but a male and a female were showing a strong territorial behavior at a putative breeding site;
c) one nest with three chicks;
d) one – with 4 chicks;
e) two nests with two chicks.

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3.  Meghri valley. 11 nests found in this area represent the highest known breeding density in Armenia.

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Due to some circumstances there were missed fledging events for four of the 11 nests – it is not known how many chicks produced each of these four nests. As for the others:

a) four nests hold 2 chicks each;
b) three nests – 3 chicks in each.

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During the surveys a nest searching technique was developed and tested as most suitable from few other methods tried.

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For all of the surveyed sites and nests there were recorded various parameters, such as nesting site GIS data, habitat description, behavior of breeding birds, nestlings and fledglings, interaction with other species and various other ecological information. Data on food was collected and taken few video footages and a number of photographs.

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The information collected in 2009 helped to achieve initial objectives of the pilot project and will significantly contribute to the future surveys of the Levant Sparrowhawk in Armenia.

 

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During the Levant Sparrowhawk surveys we were granted with the discovery of a closely related Shikra (Accipiter badius), two pairs of which were found breeding for the first time in the country.

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Butterfly Monitoring Atlas

Duration:

This project is intended to fill gaps in the National Strategy of Biodiversity Monitoring regarding the inventory and information management about Armenia’s butterflies and their habitats. At the same time it will strengthen the newly formed partnership with Butterfly Conservation Europe. The project will follow changes in species’ distribution and abundance in butterfly populations, and will examine the damages to their habitat caused by climate change and human interference. Currently, about 60% of the database is complete. In 2013 a complete database and species accounts will be prepared with all related graphics. The publication is expected by February 2014. The first ever Monitoring Atlas on Butterflies of Armenia will be regularly updated thereafter.

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Butterfly Monitoring Atlas, sample page.

Bird Monitoring Atlas

Duration:

This project will fill gaps in the National Strategy of Biodiversity Monitoring regarding the inventory and information management on breeding birds of Armenia. It will also provide input to the European Breeding Bird Atlas, where Armenia is underrepresented. The European Bird Census Council recently appointed Dr. Karen Aghababyan as the National Coordinator of the European Breeding Bird Atlas 2. The project will trace the 3 long-term changes in breeding bird species’ distribution and abundance, as well as their habitat degradation caused by climate change and human-induced threats.

Currently, Armenia is divided into 10km by 10km grids. The field data collection routes are set up. The counting methodology is piloted. Over the next four years, Dr. Aghababyan will organize large-scale fieldwork involving hundreds of professionals and volunteers. The European Bird Census Council will use the country-specific atlases to compile a European-wide atlas, the EBBA2. With the massive amount of bird data collected, the EBBA2 will become one of the most comprehensive biodiversity data sets in the world.

White Storks

image002AUA Acopian Center for the Environment Continues to Support White Storks with the Help of Villagers and Yerevan Zoo

More than a year after the completion of its White Storks Project, the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment continues to receive calls for support from villagers in the Ararat Plain seeking advice on how to care for stork chicks that are displaced or injured from natural or human causes.

From the start of the current breeding season in early Spring to date, the Center’s logs show 37 such calls. More than half of these callers received advice on how to handle the emergency and care for the nestlings—young storks yet unable to fly. For the remainder, the AUA Acopian Center sent a vehicle to the villages to provide either veterinarian care on the spot or bring the nestlings to Yerevan for care.

To date, 13 nestlings were transferred to Yerevan to be placed under special care. Eight of these have survived. The injuries of the others were too severe, making their survival impossible with wildlife rehabilitation capabilities available in Armenia.

“We are pulling together the community resources as best as we can,” says Karen Aghababyan, chief scientist of the AUA Acopian Center. In one instance, the AUA Acopian Center sought the help of Yerevan Zoo for 4 nestlings that were thrown out of their nests during strong winds in the Ranchpar and Apaga villages.

“Such an incident, under natural conditions, eliminates the nestlings’ chances of survival. If they are not in their nests, their mothers stop caring for them,” says Dr. Aghababyan. According to him, it is best to return the nestlings to their nests immediately. But this is not always possible as necessary equipment may not be readily available. “When this happens [i.e., too much time passes] the mother may reject the nestlings if returned to the nest,” explains Dr. Aghababyan.

The concerned villagers cared for these four storks and then called the AUA Acopian Center for advice. As too much time had gone by, the AUA Acopian Center sent a vehicle to the villages to transfer the birds to the Yerevan Zoo.

“We are happy to serve as a transitory home for these four orphaned stork nestlings that hopefully will soon rejoin their flock,” say Mr. Ruben Khachatryan, director of the Zoo. He adds that “To serve nature conservation and wildlife is one of Yerevan Zoo’s main objectives.”

The storks will stay at the Zoo until they learn to fly and hunt, which is expected to happen in the coming month. While their ability to fly will develop naturally, their hunting skills require learning. “Their hunting skills will be tested at the Zoo. They will also have additional occasions to learn from other storks back in the Ararat Plain in August,” explains Dr. Aghabayan.

He adds that while the Acopian Center typically does not want to intervene in the natural processes affecting stork populations, “there are many instances where the birds are injured as a result of man made environments, such as electrical wires, pesticides in water, and the like.” He stresses that the Center’s efforts to save the storks is a small compensation for all the instances where we humans cause harm to the stork population. “Also it provides great educational opportunity for the communities involved,” concludes Dr. Aghababyan.

The White Stork Project

The White Stork Project focuses on using the very common and abundant White Stork as a potential bio-indicator of environmental changes in Armenia. By studying migration patterns and reproductive ecology of White Storks, it will be possible to determine potential impacts of climate change and increased pesticide/herbicide use in Armenia. The project is unique in that it uses villagers as citizen scientists or ‘Nest Neighbors’ in the data collection process. Their involvement with the research gives them a better understanding of wildlife ecology and improves the relationship between people and nesting storks. Prior to migration, Acopian Center scientists distribute calendar-questionnaires in the villages and show the villagers how to record information on stork arrival, departure and number of fledglings. After the storks have migrated, Acopian Center scientists collect the calendars and enter the information into a GIS database.

Help support this important project in Armenia by adopting your own stork nest. and becoming a White Stork Guardian.

During the spring, our staff also bands the nestlings and takes water and soil samples in stork feeding areas for later analysis. The Acopian Center for the Environment launched a survey on pesticide use in the Ararat Valley after the first results from soil and water sampling indicated the presence of pesticide contamination. Substantial information on almost 1000 confirmed nest sites in Armenia has been collected through 2009.

‘Nest Neighbor’ Celebrations

During the fall, Acopian Center researchers conduct award ceremonies to honor ‘Nest Neighbors’. At these celebrations, certificates and gifts are awarded, accompanied by songs and plays about storks performed by school children and speeches delivered by village representatives.

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Dr. Aghababyan launched ‘Nest Neighbors’; working with farmers and villagers, to increase public understanding of storks and their habitat. By becoming involved in wetland conservation, Armenians are starting to take notice of what is being decided for natural resource use at local, national and international levels. Now, over 500 families are involved in ‘Nest Neighbors’ and regularly monitor the stork population.

Since 1994 the Whitley Awards have been awarded annually. They are one of the largest nature conservation awards available, recognizing outstanding efforts by leading local conservationists whose work is based on sound science and which fully involves local communities.

Dr. Karen Aghababyan’s research on the white stork is focused in the Ararat Valley, home to agriculture for thousands of years. During the Soviet years the wetland areas were reduced by Government draining and although they are slowly recovering a new threat has emerged – Armenia has been granted $200 million for infrastructure development, including draining the Ararat wetlands at the base of Mount Ararat, for conversion to agriculture. For centuries the White Stork has been regarded with great affection in Europe. Although they were once prolific, the intensification of agriculture and draining of wetlands has resulted in a decline in the populations. Traditionally storks like to keep their feet wet feeding in wetlands ditches or ponds where they catch frogs, lizards and small rodents. Although many Armenians feel indifferently towards wetlands, White Storks are seen as a cultural icon. They are seldom persecuted and when storks nest close to people, on anything from telegraph poles to roofs, it is a sign of good luck. Dr. Aghababyan has made birds popular in Armenia, teaching bird identification courses in English, Russian and Armenian. Using the White Stork as a flagship species, Dr. Aghababyan launched ‘Nest Neighbors’; working with farmers and villagers, to increase public understanding of storks and their habitat. By becoming involved in wetland conservation, Armenians are starting to take notice of what is being decided for natural resource use at local, national and international levels. Now, over 500 families are involved in ‘Nest Neighbors’ and regularly monitor the stork population.

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HRH The Princess Royal and Sir David Attenborough (not pictured) presented the Whitley Award to Dr. Karen Aghababyan in 2007 at London’s Royal Geographical Society. It was the first time anyone from Armenia has won the Award.

White Stork Ringing (Banding)

1988 – present: Bird ringing or bird banding, unfortunately, is not a target activity for Birds of Armenia. Nevertheless, during implementation of our projects we used the chances of ringing various species in small numbers. Among ringed birds are species such as:

The major ringing (banding) activity was conducted within the framework of the White Stork Project – there have been 284 White Stork nestlings ringed.
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Thus Birds of Armenia keeps a database of ring (band) records for Armenia, information for ring recoveries for the last 20 years, and distributes and manages rings among local responsible ringers.
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In 2008 ring (band) data regarding a White Stork was obtained. The bird was found in Saudi Arabia 1418 kilometers far from its ringing site.
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Batumi Raptor Count

Duration: 2008-present 

Birds of Armenia (Armenia)
Youth in Action Programme (Belgium)
PSOVI (Georgia)

image002Raptors are essential part of the wildlife, indicating the health of ecosystem. Change in the Raptors’ number might indicate different type of environmental issues. One of the easiest ways to get imagination of the abundance of different raptor species is to count them on migration since they are getting together on special areas, called “bottleneck sites”.

One of such sites is situated close to Batumi in Western Georgia (Ajaria), on the Black Sea coast, which is close to another raptor counting place – Borchka in Eastern Turkey. Hundreds of thousands of raptors fly through the area during autumn migration (from late August to October).

In 2008 the activity involved 28 volunteers and student trainees from Belgium, Holland, Georgia and Armenia.

image003In 2009 other countries have joined the initiative, such as Turkey, France, Sweden, Holland, Belgium, Georgia etc. Apart from participation in the count BOA also took part in organizing and implementing the “Young Birdwatchers Exchange Program”, which aims to bring together birdwatchers from a number of countries. In frames of this project BOA has distributed a recruitment announcement in Armenia, interviewed applicants and selected the most appropriate candidates. Before leaving to Batumi the selected applicants were provided with preliminary training in Armenia, both in auditorium and in the field. BOA provides each of the local candidates with a copy of “A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia”, a pair of binoculars and a spotting scope for use throughout the count.

Upon arrival to Batumi Karen Aghababyan as a leader teacher gives an intensive raptor identification course for the first three days for all the students of “Young Birdwatchers Exchange Program”.

To teach the student BOA using a part of the Bird Identification Training Course (BITC).

Results

During the counting period (by 6-22 /Sep/2008), there were counted  815374 raptors in average more than 67000 per day. We had huge number of Honey Buzzard, Black Kite, Montagu’s Harrier, Booted Eagle, Levant Sparrowhawk, etc., and also Snake Eagle, Osprey, Lesser Spotted and Steppe Eagle, etc.

During the count of 2009 the Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus) was recorded, the second time for Caucasus.

Accipiter spec.7
Aquila spec.805
Black Kite58021
Black Stork1094
Black Vulture1
Booted Eagle3553
Buzzard spec.0
Common Buzzard3
Crane42
Egyptian Vulture13
Falco spec.172
Golden Eagle1
Goshawk13
Greater Spotted Eagle78
Griffon Vulture1
Harrier spec.127
Hen Harrier7
Hen/Pallid/Montagu’s Harrier61
Hobby418
Hobby/Red-footed Falcon166
Honey Buzzard394451
Imperial Eagle23
Kestrel43
Kestrel spec.424
large unidentified raptor2
Lesser Kestrel90
Lesser Spotted Eagle1826
Lesser Spotted/Greater spotted/Steppe Eagle908
Levant Sparrowhawk3286
Long-legged Buzzard117
Marsh Harrier4098
medium unidentified raptor37219
Merlin8
Montagu’s Harrier947
Montagu’s/Pallid Harrier7264
Osprey55
Pallid Harrier510
Peregrine22
Peregrine/Saker11
Red Kite1
Red-footed Falcon265
Roller1237
Rough-legged Buzzard1
Saker3
Short-toed Eagle653
small unidentified raptor2
Sparrowhawk4346
Sparrowhawk spec.3688
Steppe Buzzard275004
Steppe Buzzard/Honey Buzzard13629
Steppe Eagle174
Stork spec.6
unidentified raptor142
White Pelican2
White Stork328
White-tailed Eagle6

image007To this day AUA Acopian Center for the Environment continues its cooperation with the Batumi Raptor Count (BRC) by developing and delivering environmental education programs to youth from all parts of the Caucasus. In 2013, Hasmik Ter-Voskanyan (in August) and Siranush Tumanyan (in September) led youth groups, including some from Armenia.

In early September, Dr. Karen Aghababyan, AUA Acopian Center chief scientist, attended the International Batumi Bird Festival organized by BRC. During his visit, Dr. Aghababyan discussed opportunities for expanding cooperation between the organizations through development of nature-based tourism as well as strengthening environmental-education and bird-monitoring programs.

“This is a relationship we want to develop further,” says Alen Amirkhanian, director of the AUA Acopian Center. “Batumi provides an unparalleled setting in the Caucasus to educate and conduct research on the environment. Importantly we are able to do this jointly with people from all parts of the Caucasus and Europe. Developing this type of cooperation is essential for addressing environmental protection needs,” says Amirkhanian.

BRC is a vital nature conservation program in the region. It monitors the more than 850,000 birds of prey that migrate through the “Batumi Bottleneck” every fall. It also works to protect the birds from illegal shootings and trappings, practices that continue to this day.

Batumi is a Black Sea coastal city in the Ajara region of the Republic of Georgia.

Blacksmith Toxic Waste Site Assessment

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Children in an Armenian village playing on toxic mining waste deposited near their schoolyard.

AUA ACE, in partnership with the AUA School of Public Health and two Republic of Armenia ministries, contributed to the Blacksmith Institute’s Global Inventory Project for Toxic Waste Sites in Armenia. The Blacksmith Institute, an international not-for-profit organization, is developing a global inventory of toxic hotspots that pose a risk to human health in low- and middle-income countries. The project evaluated 25 sites across five marzes in Armenia impacted by mining and other industrial activity. Water and soil samples were collected to analyze for heavy metals and other toxic chemicals. In addition, more than 124 community members, local authorities, and NGO representatives participated in interviews. The findings of this study show that many of these communities have unacceptably high levels of toxic pollutants and that the residents are not informed about the risks and ways to minimize exposure. While no funding exists yet, AUA ACE plans to address this lack of knowledge in communities over the summer through preparing educational materials and engaging partners with extensive networks in affected communities.