The Climate Adaptation Fund is paving new ways towards expanding vulnerable communities’ access to financial resources across Armenia, the first country in Eastern Europe allowed to benefit from its Direct Access program.
According to a press release by the Ministry of Nature Projection, the Environmental Project Implementation Unit was accredited as the fund’s 25th body responsible for a national program.

The Climate Adaptation Fund is a pioneering initiative providing developing countries’ access to climate resources, and enabling them to elaborate and implement directly accredited projects through national offices to ensure a sustainable adaptation to the changing climate.

“We are really enthusiastic about being the first country in Eastern Europe and South Caucasus to receive the fund’s accreditation. It is a very important achievement that will allow us to implement landscape adaptation projects,” said Gevorg Nersisyan, the director of the Project Implementation Unit.

Since Armenia is a mountainous country, it is more vulnerable to climatic changes which cause such phenomena as landslides, which, in turn, destroy the habitat of biodiversity.

“All this affects the country’s economic and social progress, particularly agriculture. As a mountainous country, Armenia lacks cultivable lands,” Mr Nersisyan said.

Improvement of land management will be of essential importance to both the areas in question and the neighboring territories, thus ensuring stability of biodiversity. It will help development of tourism and recreation areas, which, in turn, facilitate Armenia’s economic and social progress.