Establishment of an Agroforest in Lernavan
Within the framework of the FORACCA project, which is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in Armenia, an agroforest is being established in Lernavan.
New Agroforest with the Support of Shen NGO
Since the establishment of agroforests is being carried out with the support of Shen NGO, our specialists regularly conduct workshops and seminars on agroforestry for the initiative group of Lernavan to implement the establishment of the agroforests professionally.
This time, Shen employees, accompanied by the initiative group, visited the planting site to get acquainted with the ongoing works. Despite the difficult geographical location of the planting site, which is very steep at an altitude of 1800m above sea level, the community had already completed the preliminary work on establishing the agroforest.
Work done
They had built a fence along the entire diameter of the planting site, which will protect the agroforest from grazing. And they had already managed to plant 7,000 pine seedlings in the future forest area.
The program also envisages the establishment of a nursery with an area of about 1 ha in the agroforest. It will later provide the area with the seedlings of the tree species. The land preparation works were also completed here. They also built a pavilion to organize employee recreation in the future.
Involvement of the villagers
The process of establishing the agroforest was awe-inspiring, as community representatives, from young to old, volunteered for the work. “After work, I gladly come to our new agroforest to plant pine seedlings,” says one of the village women, who is a medical worker in the city of Spitak.
When implementing programs in rural communities in Armenia, the most encouraging thing is the positive approach and interest of the residents, which, in the case of Lernavan, is evident both during workshops and during field work.
“The Forest Restoration and Climate Change in Armenia” (FORACCA) project is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and co-funded by the four implementing organizations under the Forest Alliance of Armenia, including Shen NGO, My Forest Armenia NGO (MFA), Armenia Tree Project Charitable Foundation (ATP), and Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC). The project is implemented in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research (WSL).
