Introduction
Fires pose a major risk to the cultural and natural landscapes of the South Caucasus (including northern Armenia and southern Georgia), which is home to ecologically and socio-economically important forest and alpine ecosystems. Historically, most fires in the region have been caused by human activities, particularly in connection with the use of agricultural and pastoral lands. This continues to be the case today. However, as a result of climate change, the frequency, intensity and severity of fires could increase as temperatures rise, precipitation levels change, and heatwaves and droughts become more frequent and intense – conditions that are conducive to the occurrence and spread of fires.
Uncontrolled and undesired landscape fires and wildfires – referred to here as “fires” for short – pose environmental, economic, social and health risks and, therefore, undermine human security. Moreover, post-fire hazards, such as landslides, mudflows and floods, may create an additional burden for people, especially those whose access to resources is already limited on account of gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status or other factors. In this way, fires have a negative impact on socio-economic stability and livelihood security, thereby putting further pressure on societies. In situations where these security challenges are shared across multiple jurisdictions in border regions, such as in northern Armenia and southern Georgia, joint co-operative efforts are required to find appropriate solutions.
Strengthened and targeted co-operation between the two countries, in particular between municipalities in border regions, is of paramount importance as it makes it possible to address these risks in a holistic and sustainable manner. On the one hand, co-operation activities would help to improve the livelihoods, security and resilience of communities in the context of a changing climate. On the other hand, they would reinforce trust and good-neighbourly relations in the region. Armenia and Georgia have a long-standing history of co-operation on fire management and capacity-building, including activities facilitated by the OSCE in close partnership with the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC). This strategy paper is aimed at identifying areas of intervention and specific activities to strengthen co-operation between the two countries, and in particular between the selected pilot municipalities of Bolnisi (Georgia) and Sarchapet (Armenia), to address risks related to landscape fires and wildfires.
Project background
This document outlines a joint co-operation strategy for addressing climate-related security risks in northern Armenia and southern Georgia. It is an output of the extrabudgetary project “Strengthening responses to security risks from climate change in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia” implemented by the OSCE in partnership with the Berlin-based think tank adelphi.
The project seeks to:
- Enhance understanding of how climate-related security risks are impacting South-Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
- Increase co-operation among regional stakeholders with a view to jointly addressing climate-related security risks.
- Raise awareness and build capacities for an integrated approach to climate change and security among the main stakeholders.
The municipality of Bolnisi (Georgia) and the community of Sarchapet (Armenia) are the central focus of the Armenia-Georgia component of the project’s activities in the South Caucasus.