Background

Since April 2012 PEI has been providing technical support to the government of Armenia. Even though Armenia is ranked as a middle-income country, a third of the population in 2010 was living below the national poverty line. The global economic crisis in 2008-2009 jeopardized the achievement of many of the targets set in the National Sustainable Development Strategy. Although sectors like agriculture and mining are considered to be important engines of growth, they also produce significant degradation of natural resources and high levels of pollution. Similar to other post-Soviet countries, environmental degradation in Armenia threatens the prospects for economic growth and poverty reduction.

PEI is supporting the government of Armenia to address these issues and contribute to poverty reduction through mainstreaming environmental issues into national development processes. The main objective is to equip decision-makers and other stakeholders with tools to incorporate an ecosystem services valuation approach into existing decision-making processes, plans and budgets linking poverty reduction and environmental sustainability.

PEI technical assistance is mainly provided to the Ministry of Nature Protection, Ministry of Economy, the Prime Minister’s office, and regional and local administration bodies. The intergovernmental National Council on Sustainable Development is also an important partner.