Author: Emil Lazarian

Rural Reforestation Program in Armenia
By Bella Avetisyan and Jason Sohigian

“Caucasus Environment” Magazine
Issue 1(14) (2006)

In October 2005, Armenia Tree Project (ATP) started a unique reforestation
project in the Getik River Valley of northeastern Armenia. Nearly 120,000
tree seedlings were planted to begin the process of restoring the region’s
forest ecosystems, which are home to many endangered plant and animal
species. Residents of the villages of Aghavnavank, Dzoravank, and Aygut,
most of whom are Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan, directly participated in
the process, by growing and planting the seedlings, which hold their hopes
for the future.

As a result of unsustainable tree cutting for basic heating and cooking
needs in the Getik River Valley, the villages are facing problems caused by
severe erosion, landslides, and flooding. To address the issue, ATP
established a unique backyard nursery pilot project in 2003 in Aygut
village. Working closely with the community and local officials, ATP entered
into agreements with families interested in growing tree seedlings to be
sold to ATP for reforesting the mountainous areas surrounding their village.

Seventeen nurseries were established in the first year, which produced
20,000 seedlings. As a result of the success of the pilot program, the
number of participating families grew to 153 in 2005. The program now
includes two other villages where families agreed to develop these
micro-enterprises in collaboration with ATP. Due to the expansion and
success of this rural economic development program, the 153 backyard
nurseries produced 120,000 seedlings ready for planting in 2005, and more
than 40 workers were employed by ATP in the reforesting activity.

This, in combination with ATP’s Community Tree Planting program, resulted in
the planting of over 170,000 trees, far exceeding the number of trees
planted by ATP in a single year since its founding in 1994. After signing
contracts with ATP, each backyard nursery owner was provided with a variety
of seeds from nearby forests as well as the necessary tools and equipment.

In addition, ATP agro-specialists regularly visited the nurseries to provide
technical assistance and training to the farmers. Participants were taught
how to maintain soil and properly nurture their seedlings, which needed to
achieve a threshold height of 30 cm before being eligible for purchase by
ATP. Local children were introduced to environmental issues through a new
curriculum ATP developed for the schools.

According to a household survey conducted by ATP in 2003, the average annual
income of rural villagers in Aygut was only $280, so the money earned by the
families and workers involved in this project has provided a desperately
needed source of income.

4/16_sm.html

Table of Contents for this issue:
Contents_sm.html

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x109
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

AGBU SAN DIEGO HOSTS INAUGURAL PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING EXCHANGE

Seeking to provide career guidance to the next generation, the San
Diego Chapter of AGBU’s Southern California District sponsored its
inaugural professional networking exchange on April 30, 2006, in
Carlsbad, California for university students and professionals.

“Our goal is to support our students in fulfilling their career
potential,” said Dr. Christine Saroian, who spearheaded the
initiative. “It was very gratifying to see connections between the
professionals and students immediately being established.”

Championed by Chapter Chairwoman Ani Kalayjian Lanuza and Committee
Members Drs. Christine Saroian and Arbi Nazarian, the new initiative
has enlisted dozens of local professionals to mentor and network with
students through ongoing exchanges, as well as online communication
tools.

The AGBU San Diego Chapter is committed to preserving and promoting
the Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural
and humanitarian programs. For more information on the mentoring
initiative, please email Ani Kalayjian Lanuza at [email protected].

For more information on AGBU and its worldwide chapters, please
visit

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

CAMP NUBAR’S 2006 SOCIAL, CULTURAL & SPIRITUAL PROGRAM READY TO GO

American Camp Association, Red Cross & American Academy of Pediatrics
Give Nubar Their Stamp of Approval

Gearing up for an action packed summer, AGBU Camp Nubar has again
received the American Camp Association (ACA) highly prized seal of
approval. Only a fraction of the thousands of camps across the nation
receive ACA’s accreditation and, as part of the process, camps are
asked to adhere to 300 strict health, safety and program-quality
benchmarks created in cooperation with the American Red Cross and
the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Camp Nubar Committee Chairman, Mardi Merjian, is proud that Camp
Nubar is the only Armenian camp to hold the honor, “ACA accreditation
assures parents that the camp has had a regular, independent safety
audit that goes beyond regulations in most states. ACA accreditation
is the best evidence for parents that a camp is committed to providing
a safe and nurturing environment for their children, and in our case,
in a spiritually and culturally Armenian environment.”

Kicking off on July 1, 2006, Camp Nubar is continuing to register
campers who are eager to spend their summers in a first-rate facility
with high quality supervision and instruction. In addition to the
vast array of sporting, arts & crafts, and cultural activities, this
year’s program continues to incorporate the involvement of clergy from
the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America. His Eminence
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian will once again join Camp Nubar for the
Annual Open House Celebration on Sunday July 23, 2006. The day will
begin with Badarak in the morning, followed by a fun filled day of
activities and delicious cuisine. Rev. Fr. Taniel Karadjian, Pastor
of St. Sarkis Church of Charlotte, NC will spend a week with campers
and staff from July 1 through July 7. Other visiting clergy include
Fr. Stepanos Doudoukjian and Very Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan. Fr. Daniel
is an alumni of Camp Nubar and spent many happy summers there as a
child. The participation of clergy in the daily life of Camp Nubar
ensures that faith is an integral part of the Nubar experience.

This year’s Camp Nubar Head Staff include, Camp Director Maggie
Derderian Casaceli, Health Director Susan Schuman, Girls Head Counselor
Jen Omartian, Boys Head Counselor Dan Antreasyan, Activities Director
Tina Hagopian, Waterfront Director Chris Burdman, Office Manager Maro
Jamgotchian and, our newest addition, New York City Office Executive
Director Arshak Der-Artinian.

Accredited by ACA (), AGBU Camp Nubar was founded in
1963 and continues to be a summer haven for Armenian youth from all
around the world. For more information on Camp Nubar, please call (212)
319-6383, visit or email [email protected].

For more information on AGBU and its youth programs, please visit

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

THE NEW AMBASSADOR OF AUSTRALIA TO LEBANON VISITS ANTELIAS

His Holiness Aram I met with the new Ambassador of Australia to
Lebanon, Ms Lyndall Sachs, in his office in Antelias on June 13. Being
appointed recently, the Ambassador visited the Pontiff to inquire
about his views concerning the current situation in Lebanon and the
Armenian community’s role in it.

The Catholicos introduced the current circumstances of the
Armenian people, talking briefly about the situations in Armenia and
Karapagh. He focused on the Armenian communities in the Diaspora, the
national struggle of Armenians, and the Catholicosate of Cilicia. The
Pontiff then assessed the internal situation in Lebanon and the role
of the Armenian community in that context.

The meeting also presented an opportunity to talk about the problems
the current world faces and particularly conflicts related to the
ecumenical dialogue, violence and other issues. Expressing his views
on these matters, the Catholicos emphasized the importance of dialogue
in all fields in life.

The Ambassador expressed interest in the Armenian communities in the
Diaspora and particularly the Lebanese-Armenian community, at the
same time praising the values of the Armenian nation.

##
View photo here:
es85.htm

*****

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates
of the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the
history and mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer
to the web page of the Catholicosate, The
Cilician Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is
located in Antelias, Lebanon.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HRANT DINK TO VISIT KRASNODAR REGION

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.06.2006 15:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In September 2006 Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of
Akos Turkey-based Armenian newspaper will visit the Krasnodar region
of Russia.

As reported by the Yerkramas, the newspaper of Armenians of Russia,
Dink’s visit is private, however he is expected to hold meetings with
the representatives of the local Armenian Diaspora.

As it was reported earlier, the Turkish court of first instance
sentenced the editor-in-chief to 6 months of imprisonment for
“outrage of Turkish national dignity” in February 2006, since in one
of his articles he wrote that “Turks’ hostility poisons the blood of
Armenians.” At that time the judges decreed that the journalist called
Turkish blood poisonous. However the Court of Cassations concluded
that the accusation against Dink was brought through misunderstanding.

Recently the Turkish Office of Prosecutor General fully acquitted
Hrant Dink.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN TO DISCUSS KARABAKH IN PARIS
by Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
June 12, 2006 Monday 09:44 PM EST

The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in Paris on
Tuesday to discuss the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan told a news conference.

He said that the format and the agenda for the meeting hadn’t been
finalized. The main aim will be to create conditions for arranging
a new meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents.

“The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan last met in Bucharest with
no result,” the Armenian foreign minister went on to say. He added
he would try to overcome the differences over an issue on which the
presidents failed to reach an agreement.

“The settlement plan under discussion contains many positive elements,
including an agreement on issues, which used to be stumbling points,”
Vartan Oskanyan concluded.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THEY KNOW ABOUT BUCHAREST AS MUCH AS OTHERS

Lragir.am
13 June 06

The Islamic Republic of Iran did not have detailed information about
the last harbor of the settlement of the conflict over Karabakh. The
deputy speaker of Iran to Armenia Ali Akbar Jokhar stated June 13
that they learned about the meeting in Bucharest as much as everybody
else. “Our information about Bucharest is as much as the press and
government officials gave. However, we believe that the path of the
settlement of the conflict is negotiations and dialogue,” said Ali
Akbar Jokhar. He asserted in the name of Iran that the country is
ready to give the sides every kind of support that could lead to the
settlement of the conflict. The statement of the deputy ambassador that
Iran is, in fact, unaware of the details of the meeting in Bucharest
is interesting in the sense that after the meeting in Rambouillet
the deputy foreign minister of Iran Mottaki was informed about the
Armenia-Azerbaijan talks, whereas after Bucharest Iran asserts knowing
as much as it could learn from press.

It means that there are no details on Bucharest as such, or this
time Iran was not informed about them, or the details are not related
to Iran.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ANOTHER ARMENIAN GRAND MASTER

A1+
[04:21 pm] 13 June, 2006

FIDE gave Armenian young chess granted Tigran Kotanjyan the title
of Grand Master. The latter met all the criteria of Grand Master for
the third time in the 2006 Armenian Championship.

Tigran Kotanjyan is the 18th Armenian chess player entitled to Grand
Master’s title. Levon Aronyan has the highest rating among Armenian
chess players (2756 points) and is in the third place in the world.

Vladimir Hakobyan is in the 16th place with his 2706 points. To note,
Armenian Grand Masters have recently improved their ratings. Hakobyan
will likely be included in the list of the best 10 players in the
new table. Vladimir gained 9 points in 12 rounds held by him. Gabriel
Sargsyan also made great progress and will likely appear in the list
of the best players too.

YEREVAN AND BAKU CAN MAKE THEIR POSITIONS CLOSER ON THE THRESHOLD OF G8 SUMMIT IN ST. PETERSBURG

Regnum, Russia
June 13 2006

On the threshold of the G8 summit, which is to be held in
St. Petersburg on July 15-17, issue of top priority in the Armenian
agenda is worded as follows: will President Robert Kocharyan
participate in the summit and will he meet Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev for talks on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

On June 4 and 5, in Bucharest, leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan
failed to achieve any progress in the issues they were discussing.

Upon returning to Yerevan Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan
confirmed the presidents “failed to fix the progress.” And they
failed despite the fact that OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs had proposed
new wording and new approaches. “Nevertheless, foreign ministers of
the two countries were told to continue the talks and try to find
common grounds,” Vardan Oskanyan said. It was earlier reported that
foreign ministers of the two countries are to meet in Paris on June
13. During the talks, the parties are to try to get their positions
closer and to pave the way for the next meeting of the presidents.

Some analysts tend to think that the date of another Kocharyan-Aliyev
meeting is not far off: the presidents will have such opportunity in
the near future, namely at the G8 summit in St. Petersburg. “This
is quite an important factor, and the co-chairs believed that if
they managed to agree on key issues before the G8 summit, it will
be the best guarantee if the international community does its best
to implement these agreements in all aspects of security, economic,
financial, and political cooperation. These time limits forced to
speed up the process to some extent,” Kocharyan said.

It is a month left before the G8 summit, Armenian and Azerbaijani
foreign ministers are to meet today, and it should not be ruled out
that they succeed in getting the positions closer and come to an
agreement on some principles, preparing by this a good basis for the
Kocharyan-Aliyev meeting.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN FMS TO MEET IN PARIS WITHOUT AMERICAN CO-CHAIR

Today, Azerbaijan
June 13 2006

Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers will meet in Paris today.

The sides will discuss agreeing upon the issues which were not solved
during the Presidents’ meeting in Bucharest and make efforts to reach
common agreement. The two Foreign Ministers will also have talks on
organizing next meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents.

According to APA, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir
Taghizadeh told that this meeting is the continuation of the Prague
process.

The OSCE Minks Group Russian and French co-chairs, Yuri Merzlyakov
and Bernard Fassier as well as personal representative of the OSCE
chairman-in-office Andrzei Kaspiisk will also participate in the
meeting of Foreign Ministers. There wil be no delegate from US-
other co-chair of the Minsk Group.

US Embassy public affairs officer Jonathan Henick informs that Steven
Mann is not the co-chair any more as he has been appointed to another
post. The United States will not be represented in the talks this
time as new co-chairman has not yet been appointed.

URL:

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress