Welcome to the Environmental Conservation and Research Center of the American University of Armenia

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Introduction

ECRC is funded by the generous support of Mr. Sarkis Acopian, an industrialist from Easton, Pennsylvania. Mr. Acopian's particular interest in the beauty, diversity, and ecological significance of Armenia's bird life has led to the publication of two books by the Birds of Armenia Project.

Birds of Armenia Project

The research center provides understanding and scientific information needed to recognize and mitigate adverse impacts to the environment and responds to requests for technical assistance from local and international agencies working on environmental issues in the region.

The Birds of Armenia Project operates independently within ECRC to document the diversity of bird life and habitats within Armenia. Armenia is home to an extensive varitety of birds due to the wide range of ecological niches found at a range of altitudes from the wetlands of the Ararat valley to the alpine meadows of the high mountain regions.

Over the last two years the Birds of Armenian project has published two books. The first, A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia, was published in 1997 by the AUA and provides extensive information on bird descriptions, habitats, identification, behavior, nesting, and occurence. A companion volume provides a complete ornithological reference to Armenian birds. Taken together they represent the most complete documentation available for birds in this region. The Birds of Armenia Project will continue its work by publishing Armenian language versions of its reference works and producing educational materials about bird ecology.

The Project is lead by Dr. Martin S. Adamian, a renowned ornithologist and senior scientist in the Armenian National Academy of Sciences. For 38 years he has dedicated his professional life to the study of Armenian birds, publishing 110 scientific articles and 2 books. He is aided by an ornithological colleague, Dr. Daniel Klem, Jr., and a technically skilled international team of field, museum, and editorial contributors primarily from Armenia, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

The project is funded by the generous contributions of Sarkis Acopian, an industrialist from Easton, Pennsylvania who has a natural love of birds and the environment that nurtures them.

It is hoped that all of the work of the the Project will promote responsible environmental management, and ensure environmental health and the conservation of Armenian natural resources through the appreciation, enjoyment, and study of birds.

Education Programs

Academic courses at AUA

Our academic courses at AUA include a survey class in environmental management taught to first-year students in all masters programs, a class on environmental risk assessment taught to all first-year engineering students, and, beginning in the Summer of 1999, a certificate program in conservation and environmental studies.

Environmental Management (EM295) explores the fundamental issues of ecology, conservation, and environmental pollution that should be grasped by students living and working in a country that must find ways to develop sustainably. The goal of the class is to provide all students with innate knowledge and awareness of environmental problems and train them to be community leaders and educators.

Environmental Risk Assessment (EM295b) provides the scientific and quantitative background necessary for project planners and engineers to make informed and responsible decisions about industrial development that could have an impact on the environment. Public participation in planning is emphasized along with the principles of sustainable development.

The Certificate Program in Conservation and Environmental Studies (EM300 and EM320) is offered to 10-15 of the top students in the various masters programs and provides advanced course work coupled with the opportunity to conduct independent research. The certificate program is intended to provide students with the background necessary to bring environmental awareness and sustainable development concepts to their professional careers. As future leaders in Armenia, the students completing the program will become environmental educators for their peers. In addition, the one or two best students in the Certificate Program are given the opportunity by AUA to continue their environmental education abroad.

ECRC organizes an annual conference for K-12 science teachers in Armenia. ECRC is taking a leading role in bringing an environmental education curriculum to the classrooms of Armenian schoolchildren. The first Environmental Education Workshop, held in the Fall of 1998, identified three roadblocks to environmental education in Armenia: 1) the lack of curricular materials, 2) the lack of teacher training in the variety of environmental disciplines, and 3) the lack of a clearly defined government policy on environmental education in the Republic of Armenia.

In the 2nd annual Environmental Education Workshop to be held in the Fall of 1999, ECRC will work with participants to address these problem areas. ECRC is developing and assembling existing curricular materials to be distributed to teachers, and we will conduct training seminars at the workshop on concepts in habitat conservation, environmental pollution, and sustainable development. Finally, all teachers will participate in creating a petition to be circulated among schoolteachers and presented to the Ministry of Education suggesting policy changes that will improve the state of environmental education in the primary school system.

ECRC also works with the Ministry of Education in order to provide any assistance possible in their environmental education programs. In particular, we have offered to provide assistance in creating maps using our GIS system.

Geographic Information System

GIS is a powerful analytical tool that can be tailored to the specific needs of a user, whether it be a research center, business, government institution, or student. By implementing a GIS, the Environmental Research and Management Center at the American University of Armenia has initiated an Armenian Resource Information Database (ARID). ARID creates the framework for a national geographic database and allows the compilation of large amounts of environmental and health data in a manageable format. This system functions as a sophisticated environmental database and mapping system and is the only one of its kind in Armenia. Through ARID, the ECRC can facilitate the generation and dissemination of key statistical and geographically referenced data sets as well as information on environmental and natural resource issues.

Current GIS based projects developed at the ECRC include:

mapping of metal contamination in the air, water, and soil in industrial and mining regions as well as the capital of Yerevan

assessing the environmental and health risks of trace element contamination

creating an information system for the Khosrov Preserve

mapping surface water resources and conditions throughout Armenia

mapping Sevan National Park.

Research

The Birds of Armenia Project (BOA): This project has published A Field Guide to the Birds of Armenia (Adamian and Klem 1997), the most comprehensive field guide available for Armenian bird life, as well as the accompanying Handbook of the Birds of Armenia (Adamian and Klem 1999), the most thorough and up to date ornithological handbook for the region. The project is directed by Martin Adamian, a member of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, and relies on a technically-skilled international team of field, museum, and editorial contributors primarily from Armenia, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, including AdamianÕs coauthor Dr. Daniel Klem, Jr.

The Fate and Transport of Environmental Pollutants: The ECRC pursues a variety of projects in metals and pollutant transport. From 1999-2001, the Center is funded through a NATO Linkage Grant to conduct research on metals contamination in ArmeniaÕs mining districts and in Yerevan in order to determine the extent of transboundary metals transport and the public health threats, and to establish a history and database of metals flux into the environment. The project is being carried out in cooperation with two colleagues at the Institute of Geosciences, and also involves three researchers at the University of California in Santa Cruz. With part of the NATO funding, a trace metal clean laboratory is being renovated at the Institute of Geosciences which will not only build capacity for environmental research in Armenia but through our collaborative ties will be a resource for AUA and itÕs students. Other work in environmental pollution includes a recent report funded by AUA compiling and summarizing all existing data on the Lake Sevan problem, and the development of a program to assess the extent of possible contamination of food, soil, and water with radionuclides from Medzamor nuclear power plant.

Geographical Information Systems: In addition to being a powerful tool in our other research projects, the Geographical Information System (GIS) is being developed by ECRC as an Armenian Resource Information Database (ARID). ARID creates the framework for a national geographic database, and contributes to the compilation of environmental and health data. This system functions as a sophisticated environmental database and mapping system and is the only one of its kind in Armenia. Through ARID, the ECRC can facilitate the generation and dissemination of key statistical and geographically referenced data sets as well as information on environmental and natural resource issues. At present, the ARID system contains over 20 different maps ranging in theme from biodiversity to hydrogeology.

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