The long-term solution sought is to facilitate shift from unsustainable to sustainable forest management in NE Armenia. The target area contains 65% of Armenia’s forest resources and provides essential ecosystem services including water provision (for urban use and food production), land slide, control and carbon storage and sequestration. The project will promote an integrated approach towards fostering sustainable forest management – seeking to balance environmental management with development and community needs. The project major objective is sustainable land and forest management in the North-eastern Armenia to secure continued flow of multiple ecosystem services (such as water provision, land slide control, and carbon storage/sequestration) and to ensure conservation of critical wildlife habitats through the removal of the aforementioned barriers will ensure sustainable land and forest management to secure continued flow of multiple ecosystem services. This would be achieved during the four years of implementation through two main components, namely: (i) Integration of sustainable forest and land management objectives into planning and management of forest ecosystems to reduce degradation and enhance ecosystem services in two marzes covering 0.65 million hectares; and (ii) Sustainable Forest Management practices effectively demonstrating reduced pressure on high conservation forests and maintaining flow of ecosystem services. It will attempt to reduce conflicting forest land-uses and improve the sustainability of forest management so as to maintain the flow of vital ecosystem services and sustain the livelihoods of local forest-dependent communities (and downstream users). This platform will be underpinned by a robust forest management planning support system and monitoring framework that will inform plans for the forest estate. The context of the required contractual service is to conduct Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Forest and Forest Ecosystem Valuation in line of activities of Environmental Expertise Unit of Ministry of Nature Protection of RA as state responsible unit for EIA. The objectives of the Task are: a) review the acting forest related legislation and normative documents and assess their possible impact on environment; b) assess impact of acting and revised (in process) forest management planning documents and their implementation; c) develop a methodological guideline for the EIA of acting and planning forest management practices; d) conduct an assessment of EIA of forest and forest ecosystem valuation.
|
