Projects

German-Armenian Network on the Advancement of Public Participation GIS for Ecosystem Services as a Means for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development (GAtES).
Starting in 2018, the University of Hohenheim (UHOH) and the American University of Armenia’s (AUA) Acopian Center for the Environment are collaborating on a 4-year academic exchange program funded by DAAD, the ...

To accelerate development of ecotourism in Armenia by creating a platform for exchange of ideas and experiences as well as creating a network of stakeholders the AUA Ecotourism Conference brought together more than 480 stakeholders, representing over 100 organizations and communities, from all corners of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment is working with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office in Armenia to develop environmental education training modules for decision makers from ministries, state agencies, regional governments, and local governments.

To establish and develop a new Master on «INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES in ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDINGS» for 3 Russian Universities and 2 Armenian Universities with affiliation to other 2 Russian Universities, according to student-centred or output-based approach.

The Heinrich Boell Foundation in cooperation with the American University of Armenia (AUA) Acopian Center for the Environment will organize the Sustainable Energy Academy to create a community of students and young professionals in Armenia who will be equipped to promote and implement sustainable energy solutions at building, district/community, and national levels. The efforts of ...

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 ...

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 ...

The 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 ...

The Thousand Leaf Project is a collaboration between the Armenian Environmental Network, a project of Earth Island Institute, and the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment. The aim of the project is to house information about wild plants and mushrooms (growing in a natural state; not cultivated) that Armenian people have used throughout history and ...

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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 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.

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The 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. ...

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

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AUA 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 ...

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The  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.

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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.

Duration: 2004-2010

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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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 ...

Duration: 2003-present

Today, 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 ...

Duration: 2004-present

The course is teaching how to identify different bird species and how to observe them in nature. The course 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, ...

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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 ...

Duration: 2005-present

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, ...

Duration: 2005-2006

In 2005 we have started a pilot survey of raptors at the forest area of Aragats Mountain. 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 ...

Duration: 2006-2008

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 ...

Duration: 2008

Armenia, although a small country, is very rich in wild relatives of      cultivars, including the ancestors and donors of such important cult ivated 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 ...

Duration: 2008
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. Objectives:

• to check the current condition of population (number of breeding pairs) and reproductive success (number of fledglings)
• to analyze the data and compare it with ...

Duration: 2007-2008

The 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 ...

Duration: 2007-2008

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 ...

Duration: 2002-present

 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 ...

Duration: 2007-2009

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 ...

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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 ...