Sustainable Energy Academy 2018

Sustainable Energy Academy 2018 is jointly organized by the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment and the South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation. This year’s theme is “The Youth & Civil Society Action towards Sustainable Energy in Rural Communities”.

GAtES – German-Armenian Network on the Advancement of Public Participation GIS for Ecosystem Services

GAtES – German-Armenian Network on the Advancement of Public Participation GIS for Ecosystem Services

Էկոտուրիզմը Հայաստանում Համաժողով 2018

ՄԱԶԾ բնապահպանական կրթության վերապատրաստման դասընթացների փաթեթներ

Ճարտարագիտության և կայունության մասին դասընթացների երևանյան շարք

 

Third International Scientific Conference on Biological Diversity and Conservation Problems of the Fauna.

September 27-29, 2017

Կայուն էներգետիկայի ակադեմիա 2017

Summer Course: Urban Environmental Mapping: Field Application of Sensing and Visualization Tool

July 6-26, 2017

ՀԱՀ Յակոբեան բնապահպանական կենտրոնի ու Հայկական բնապահպանական ցանցի կողմից իրականացվող «Հազարտերևուկ» նախագծի կայքի շնորհանդեսը

Հայնրիխ Բյոլ հիմնադրամը և ՀԱՀ Յակոբեան բնապահպանական կենտրոնը անցկացրին 2016թ. Կայուն էներգետիկայի ակադեմիան

Յակոբեան կենտրոնի մրցանակակիր օնլայն ատլասները

ՀԱՀ Յակոբեան բնապահպանական կենտրոնի տնօրեն Ալեն Ամիրխանյանը նշանակվել է ՀՀ բնապահպանության նախարարի ավագ խորհրդական

Կայուն էներգետիկայի ակադեմիայի շրջանակում ավարտվեց Կալավանի դպրոցի ջերմամեկուսացման նախագիծը

«Սննդային շղթան դպրոցի բակերում» ծրագիր

First AUA Ecotourism Conference Convened 500 Participants from across the Country

Linda Shahinian, a Native Angeleno, Contributes Her Talents to AUA’s Acopian Center for the Environment

AUA Acopian Center for the Environment Director Interviewed in Civilnet Reportage on Green Architecture.

AUA ACE’s “Edible” School Yards Program Being Piloted in Two Yerevan Schools

Two AUA Faculty Members Write a Textbook on Green Architecture

National Study Tour in Armenia Organized by AUA ACE Featured in the TREC Danube

Armenia’s Tourism Competitiveness: Exploring Links with Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability

Six Yerevan Schools Complete “Natural Environment and I” Program, June 8, 2015

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

2015 Summer Graduate Courses at AUA on GIS and Remote Sensing

Animal Welfare Training co-hosted by AUA Acopian Center for the Environment

AUA Acopian Center for the Environment Hosts Director of Yerevan Zoo

AUA Hosts Speaker on U.S. Innovation & Policy for Clean & Renewable Energy

AUA Acopian Center for the Environment Hosts Lecture on Social Innovation, Alternatives, and Change

Roundtable Discussion at AUA Brings Attention to the Future of Inclusive and Resilient Schools in Armenia

Training on Photovoltaic & Solar Thermal Collector Installation, Application Deadline – May 8, 2015

AUA Ecotourism Conference

Seminar Series on Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), February – May

New Video on AUA as an Innovation Force in Armenia!

Acopian Center for the Environment Welcomes Danish Project Consultants

MoU Signing at AUA Results in Establishment of Environmental Education Network

Interview: Crowdfunding to Protect Mining Communities from Toxic Pollution

Yerevan Municipality Invites AUA Acopian Center for the Environment to Deliver Extracurricular Environmental Education Program to Yerevan Public Schools

Aquaponics in Armenia

Abundance of Narrow-Clawed Crayfish and Its Population Trends in Lake Sevan, Armenia

Emerging Trends in Transportation Engineering (and Cycling in Yerevan)

Green Urbanism and Architecture Lecture to Young Architects and Planners

AUA Acopian Center director, Alen Amirkhanian, made a presentation on green urbanism to a group of young architects and planners as part of “Talking Places – Re-Imagining Public Space in Yerevan,” a 2-day workshop organized by the Luys Foundation and its fellows Vahe Markosian, Raffy Mardirossian, and Paul Matevosyan.

 

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AUA Acopian Center for the Environment Reintroduces Brown Trout in Tavush Marz River

The Number and Trends of Breeding Carrion Crows in Yerevan

Alternative Solutions to Wastewater Management in the Wider Black Sea Region, July 2, 2014 Daylong Seminar at AUA

 

 

GREEN ARCHITECTURE BOOK COVER COMPETITION

UNDP-GEF “Improving Energy Efficiency in Buildings” project is publishing a textbook for architecture and urban-planning students on environmentally responsible and energy-efficient building design. Young architects and graphic designers are invited to submit designs for the cover of this textbook. The cover includes front cover, cover spine, and back cover.

Download Detailed Instructions here.

Միջազգային ուսուցողական ծրագիր «Հոք մաունթին» արգելոցի Յակոբեան բնապահպանման ուսուցման կենտրոնում

AUA Study: Mining in Armenia Creates Poverty, Income Inequality

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

YEREVAN–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.

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.

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.

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.

The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment (AUA ACE) is a research center of the American University of Armenia (AUA). AUA ACE promotes the protection and restoration of the natural environment through research, education, and community outreach. AUA ACE’s focus areas include sustainable natural resource management, biodiversity and conservation, greening the built environment, clean energy and energy efficiency, as well as information technology and the environment.

The College of Business and Economics (CBE) at the American University of Armenia (AUA) is the leading business school in the region, promoting entrepreneurship, innovation and ethical leadership. CBE has catered to Armenian and international students, corporations, and communities for the past 20 years.

International Conference to Tackle Mining’s Impact on Environment and Health in Armenia

YEREVAN–Experts from around the world will meet in Yerevan, on April 22-23, for a two-day scientific symposium at the American University of Armenia (AUA) on the impact of mining and construction on health in Armenia and other transitional economies.

This symposium, titled “Emerging Issues in Environmental and Occupational Health: Mining and Construction in Transition Economies,” is being organized by the AUA School of Public Health and AUA Acopian Center for the Environment in cooperation with the Collegium Ramazzini, an independent, international academy advancing the study and practice of occupational and environmental health and safety.

“We hope to engage a broad spectrum of occupational and environmental health scientists working in academia, as well as government and non-government organizations, business, labor, and other organizations in the public and private sectors,” explains Varduhi Petrosyan, associate dean of the AUA School of Public Health. “The symposium seeks to improve the understanding of how evidence-based scientific findings can be applied to strategically protect workers’ and community health in the region.”

The conference takes place at a time of new challenges facing many transitional economies, particularly in the post-soviet sphere. Armenia, along with other former communist-block states, has been unable to develop adequate responses to the socio-economic, environmental, and public health concerns rising from unregulated market growth in mineral extraction and construction

“The research presented will provide solutions to the many occupational and environmental health problems facing the communities and laborers affected by these industries,” says Alen Amirkhanian, director of the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment. “Our goal is to move the discussion forward and help craft public policy that can address these issues, protect workers and ensure we properly develop these industries.”

The language of the conference is English with simultaneous translation into Armenian. The conference will be streamed live online at http://civilnet.am For more information, visit http://eoh2013.aua.am

The AUA School of Public Health works actively to improve the health of the populace and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of public health professionals and others to be leaders in public health, health services research and evaluation, and health care delivery and management.

The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment (AUA ACE) is a research center of the American University of Armenia. AUA ACE promotes the protection and restoration of the natural environment through research, education, and community outreach. AUA ACE’s focus areas include sustainable natural resource management, biodiversity and conservation, greening the built environment, clean energy and energy efficiency, as well as information technology and the environment.

Conference Program:

Monday – April 22

9:00-9:30: Registration

9:30-10:30: Opening Session

11:00-13:00: Preventing Mining-related Illness in Miners and the Community – Part A

14:00-15:30: Environmental and Work-related Cancer

16:00-18:00: Preventing Mining-related Illness in Workers and the Community – Part B

Tuesday – April 23

13:00-15:00: Preventing Work-related Illness in Construction Workers