Reducing the risk of disaster in Armenia

Hovhannes Arakelyan has witnessed hundreds of floods in his remote village of Sipanik, in Western Armenia. "I have seen smashed roads, houses, and crops, and disasters used to diminish our hope for a better life," says the 72-year-old.

Summary

Disasters, violent conflict, and economic and climate-related turbulence continue to claim lives, destroy economies and livelihoods, and undermine development progress for millions of people. Crisis prevention, recovery and reducing the vulnerability of countries to catastrophe are cornerstones of UNDP’s work. As part of UNDP, the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) was established to support innovative approaches to crisis prevention, early warning and conflict resolution, as well as to help bridge the gap between emergency relief and long-term development.

This report covers the period 01/01/2011 to 31/12/2011.

Programme summary In the field of disaster management the Armenian Red Cross Society was focusing on strengthening disaster preparedness of the National Society and communities in high risk areas.
Therefore partnerships were established with schools in three regions and in Yerevan.

1. Who are we?

The IFRC Secretariat is organised in business groups: five decentralised Zone offices and four supportive business groups at the Geneva Headquarters. The Europe Zone Office is one of the five decentralised zone offices, with several regional and country offices reporting to it, covering the European continent in the broadest political meaning, i.e. 52 countries including the successor states of the former Soviet Union in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The activities proposed hereafter are still subject to the adoption of the financing decision ECHO/WWD/BUD/2012/01000

1 . CONTEXT

For the purposes of this Humanitarian Implementation Plan (HIP), the Central Asia and Caucasus (CAC) region covers the following countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan (Central Asia), and Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia (South Caucasus). This represents an area of 4.1 million square kilometres and with a population of 77 million.

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Conflict and Disaster

As noted in the discussion of the Sri Lanka irrigation project above, cofinancing provides an important tool for rebuilding basic infrastructure in countries recovering from prolonged military conflict.

Armenia is a constitutional republic with a population of approximately 3.2 million. The constitution provides for an elected president and a unicameral legislature (the National Assembly). The country has a multiparty political system. In 2008 Serzh Sargsian of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) was sworn in as president, after a significantly flawed presidential election. The RPA continued to dominate the three-party ruling coalition in the National Assembly, as well as the government's cabinet. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.

Countries of South East Europe and the Caucasus (SEEC) are highly vulnerable to natural hazards. Ninety percent of the area of South East Europe is located within trans-boundary river basins, which makes the region highly prone to floods. Due to climate change, the frequency and severity of natural disasters, particularly those of hydro-meteorological origin, are rising in all SEEC countries. In addition, the Balkans and the Caucasus, located on the intersection of two continental plates, have suffered some of the most damaging earthquakes in the recent

Programme purpose: The programmes supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Armenia are aligned with the Global Agenda goals in the areas of disaster management, health and care, and organizational development.

Programme summary: The Federation supported activities implemented by the Armenia Red Cross Society are in line with the strategic priorities of the National Society and mainly directed towards disaster risk reduction, psychosocial support and resource mobilization