BELMONT, Mass.—The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) is co-hosting a panel discussion titled “Green Revolution: Armenia’s Vision to Fight Global Climate Change” on Wednesday, March 18 at 7:30 pm.
This event will include a report by Armenia Tree Project (ATP) and Boston area experts who participated in the “Forest Summit: Global Action and Armenia” conference at American University of Armenia (AUA) in October.
ATP and AUA Acopian Center for the Environment convened the inaugural Forest Summit from October 20 to 23 in Armenia. Though small in size, Armenia has shown renewed political commitment to protecting and expanding its forest cover. As part of its pledge to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, Armenia has committed to double its forest cover by 2050. The Summit brought local and international experts and stakeholders together for the first time to discuss the challenges and opportunities around this ambitious commitment.
The Summit was opened by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who emphasized that forests and environmental issues are a high priority for his administration.
“There was a huge amount of interest in the Forest Summit, from activists to local and international experts who came together to exchange ideas and help chart the way forward to expand Armenia’s forest cover,” noted ATP Executive Director Jeanmarie Papelian. “ATP is excited to be a part of this movement, given our 25 years of experience in this field. And this event at NAASR is the kick-off to report the outcomes on the eve of the International Day of Forests which we celebrate every year.”
“As global citizens concerned about the future of our planet, we are proud that Armenia and NAASR are part of the discussion around how trees can solve pressing issues like climate change,” explained NAASR Director of Academic Affairs Marc Mamigonian. “This event is a wonderful follow up to the panel we held on linkages between the environment and national security, and it brings us up to date by putting it in the context of the Velvet Revolution in Armenia.”
The panel will be moderated by Prof. Anna Ohanyan, professor of Political Science and International Studies at Stonehill College and Papelian. They will be joined by Guy Hydrick, a GIS expert and PhD candidate at Clark University who participated in the Forest Summit. Hydrick’s doctoral thesis is based on ATP’s extensive monitoring data, which is unprecedented in the field of urban forestry.
This event, to be held at the NAASR Vartan Gregorian Building, 395 Concord Avenue, Belmont, MA, is free and open to the public. Cosponsors include ATP, NAASR and the Greater Boston Nejdeh chapter of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF). It is part of the NAASR/Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Lecture Series on Contemporary Armenian Issues.
NAASR
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