Academic Program in Environmental Science and Conservation and the Environmental Conservation and Research Center

In 1992 the University established an Academic Program in Environmental Science and Conservation together with the Environmental Conservation and Research Center. The academic and research programs are generously endowed by Mr. Sarkis Acopian to fulfill AUA's mission promoting sustainable development in Armenia. In 1997 the Sarkis Acopian Chair in Environmental Conservation was established to fund a faculty position overseeing both the research and academic programs.

New ! - State of the Environment Report for Armenia

Academic Program

The Academic Program in Environmental Conservation and Research offers an introductory course on environment that is required for first year students in each masters program. In addition, the Academic Program offers a Certificate in Environmental Science and Conservation open to students in their second year of masters study.

Research Center Projects And Collaborations

Birds of Armenia: The Birds of Armenia project operates within ECRC to document Armenia's significant diversity of bird life and to promote awareness of birds and wildlife conservation in Armenia. The Birds of Armenia project combines the efforts of ornithologists from the Institute of Zoology (part of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences) and foreign researchers from the US, UK, and Russia. The Birds of Armenia project has published A Field Guide to the Birds of Armenia (in English) in 1997; the Handbook of the Birds of Armenia (a scholarly treatise) in 1999; a Reference Map for the Birds of Armenia Project in 1999; and A Field Guide to the Birds of Armenia (in Armenian) in 2000. These works are a significant resource for building environmental awareness in Armenia, and the Birds of Armenia project is now engaged in community outreach to promote birding as an avenue to a larger awareness of the problems of habitat preservation in Armenia.

Toxic metals contamination: ECRC has been working on research projects in collaboration with the University of California at Santa Cruz, the Institute of Geosciences in Armenia, and Johns Hopkins University in order to assess the environmental impact and public health threats of toxic metals contamination in Armenia's air, soil, and water. These ongoing projects have been externally funded and have provided the only current and accurate information about metals in the Armenian environment. A future step in this research will be to work with local NGOs to provide information about contamination hotspots and assist in organizing community action directed at cleanup and awareness building.

Water quality: The Center has an ongoing interest in the conservation of Armenia’s surface water quality and research into health threats from drinking water contamination. In 2002, the Center designed and specified the equipment and procedures for a $500,000 water quality laboratory being built by USAID in the Ministry of Nature Protection. Also in that year, a student in the Certificate Program undertook the first independent assessment of nitrate contamination of drinking water in over 100 villages of the Ararat valley. She identified concentration gradients and hotspots that form the basis for more focused research. In 2003, the Center is constructing the scientific research laboratory at AUA, dedicated to water quality analysis. The lab will initially support a pilot project, funded by the USDA through Johns Hopkins University, to develop inexpensive approaches to mitigating the impact of fish farm wastewater on natural ecosystems.

Geographical Information Systems: ECRC has used its GIS capabilities in a variety of projects including the metals research described above and in preparation of the State of the Environment Reports for Armenia in 1998 and 2000. These reports were prepared in cooperation with the Ministry of Nature Protection and incorporate extensive use of thematic maps prepared by ECRC. The GIS system will continue to support ECRC research by allowing visualization and manipulation of map-based data, and the system also will be used in a project underway to map the distribution of toxic metals in Armenia's urban centers.

Community Outreach

ECRC promotes improved teaching and environmental awareness throughout Armenia. ECRC hosts conferences on environmental education, providing curricular materials and training to teachers in Armenian elementary and secondary schools. ECRC also sponsors the AUA Eco Club, which has organized student teaching in local classrooms on aspects of ecology. Currently, ECRC is working with the US Peace Corps to assist Peace Corps volunteers in developing community-based environmental education projects throughout Armenia.

ECRC also receives a large number of requests annually for assistance from the local environmental research and NGO community. In 2000, for example, ECRC collaborated with the OCSCE on two conferences concerning the ratification and implementation the Aarhus Convention on public access to environmental information. The conferences prompted significant movement in the ratification process, and also promoted a dialogue on implementation strategies that brought together representatives of parliament, ministries, NGOs, and researchers. As a result of the conferences, and the work of OSCE as ombudsman, the Aarhus Convention is now ratified in Armenia: as a ratified international convention the constitution provides that the terms of the convention supercede existing laws and provide Armenians with access to information and justice on environmental issues.

Facilities

ECRC owns and has access to a variety of facilities for environmental data collection and analysis.

Data collection: ECRC owns a dissolved oxygen meter and a multi-meter capable of measuring pH, salinity, temperature, turbidity, and total dissolved solids in water samples. ECRC also owns (collaboratively with the Institute of Geosciences) a field-portable X-ray fluorescence spectrophotometer capable of measuring over fifteen heavy metals in solid and thin film samples. On loan from the University of California at Santa Cruz are an air pump for air sampling, a peristaltic pump for water sampling, and a field portable blood lead analyzer for on-site determination of blood lead concentrations. Through the collaboration of ECRC researchers with the University of California at Santa Cruz, we also have access to research labs at UCSC, including a thermal ionization mass spectrometer for measuring lead isotope compositions and an inductively coupled mass spectrometer for measuring trace element concentrations. In collaboration with the Institute of Geosciences, ECRC has renovated a trace-metal-clean lab space for sample storage and pre-analysis preparation.

Data reduction: ECRC has a GIS laboratory equipped with ArcView GIS software, a large-format plotter, a digitizing table, and new computer workstations for GIS work.

The Environmental Conservation and Research Center is home to the Academic Program in Environmental Conservation and Research, conducts research into conservation, ecology, environmental contamination, and sustainable development in the Republic of Armenia, and serves the community through education outreach programs and collaboration with local scientists and organizations.

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 creation of the Birds of Armenia Project which has published the three most comprehensive books on birds in Armenia.

An important function of ECRC is to promote environmental awareness and conservation. All AUA students are required to successfully complete an Environmental Management or Environmental Law course before graduating. In addition, second year masters students with sufficient academic standing can enroll in the Certificate in Environmental Science and Conservation program which provides advanced training in environmental studies and the chance to conduct an original research project.

ECRC also cooperates with Armenian governmental organizations, NGOs, and local environmental researchers in order to further the goals of preservation and sustainable development. Towards that end, we have developed the Armenian Resource Information Database (ARID), a geographical information system that currently encompasses over 20 maps portraying a range of environmental features, from Armenia's natural preserves to its hydrogeology. Maps from ARID have been used to create the State of the Environment Report for Armenia in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The report was prepared for the United Nations Environmental Programme as part of their Global Resource Information Database (GRID). An updated version of the report was prepared in 2000, again in cooperation with the United Nations and the Ministry of Nature Protection.

If you would like more information about any of our programs or think that we could be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Birds of Armenia Project | Environmental Research | Site Map | Education Programs | Geographical Information Systems | Text Only | Staff and Contact Information | Armenian Photographic Tour | Environmental Links