Mapping of pastures and grasslands of Armenia
Natural fodder areas, such as pastures and grasslands, constitute 39% of the Republic of Armenia’s total territory and 57% agricultural lands․
They have a fundamental role in feeding herbivores and ruminants and provide essential ecosystem services, including erosion control, water management, and water purification. Grasslands also support biodiversity and cultural services and are a vital stock of carbon. However, Armenia’s pastures and grasslands are at risk of advancing soil erosion and degradation caused by over-grazing and non-sustainable management practices. Besides, holistic approaches to the sustainable and biodiversity-friendly use of natural resources lack in Armenia. Thus, an integrated and sustainable management approach by the decision makers on national and communities’ level is required to sustain resources in the long term and protect the many pastoralists’ livelihoods in Armenia.
To address these challenges, the “Management of natural resources and safeguarding of ecosystem services for sustainable rural development in the South Caucasus (ECOserve)” project supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Environmental programme together with the RA Ministry of Economy, German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the International Center for Agribusiness Research and Education (ICARE), jointly implemented a “Factor-Based Mapping of Pastures and Grasslands in Armenia by Improving Data Access” to facilitate decision-making․
The developed materials can be used as an effective tool for pasture and grassland monitoring, management, decision making and strategy development.
On June 29, 2022 the pasture and hay meadow mapping materials developed in the framework of “Management of natural resources and safeguarding of ecosystem services for sustainable rural development in the South Caucasus” (ECOserve) programme implemented by GIZ commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in close cooperation with the German Aerospace Agency (DLR) and the ICARE foundation were officially passed to the RA ministry of Economy and ANAU for further application in the respective rural communities (Amasia and Gyulagarak) of Lori and Shirak marzes of RA.
Updated as of 14.11.2022