On March 4th, 2017 FPWC hosted a round-table meeting with Armenia’s community heads over a number of environmental and socio-economic issues in vulnerable villages across Armenia, which took place in the Urtsadzor Eco center (Urtsadzor village, Ararat region).

The meeting  aimed at, and succeeded in bringing together key stakeholders to discuss and encourage communities’ initiatives in the fields of sustainable economic development, wildlife conservation, eco-tourism and SME promotion through the involvement of villagers in nature conservation activities, in a comprehensive  manner.

The main topics of the day’s agenda were the presentation of FPWC’s community development and conservation projects, the boost of human-wildlife conflicts in Armenian villages, as well as the role and significance of the community involvement in change-making processes aimed at sustainable development.

The stakeholders presented the main environmental and socioeconomic problems of their communities, brainstormed the possible solutions and discussed the cooperation benefits linking wildlife conservation with development projects.

Summarizing the round-table meeting, the 14 community heads and representatives expressed their readiness for further collaboration with FPWC and Armenian corporate sector to foster the environmentally friendly development of their communities aimed at preserving the surrounding wildlife and their habitats. The parties promised to follow up the agreements achieved during the round table and contribute to the creation of eco-villages chain in Armenia.

The project is supported by Dutch Otterfund․