ArmenPress
Dec 10 2004

KOCHARIAN MEETS CENTRAL BANK COUNCIL MEMBERS

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS: Armenian president Robert
Kocharian’s press office said he had a working meeting today with
members of the Central Bank Council. It said “the focal topic of the
meeting was to sum up what the Bank has done in the outgoing year and
to discuss the current situation in the financial market.”
Kocharian was quoted as saying that the Central Bank is
experiencing now a very crucial moment with global shifts occurring
at the world’s financial markets, which “could not have failed to
have its impact on Armenia’s economy.”
Kocharian said it is very important for the Central Bank and the
government to adapt their moves and policies to global processes,
“but not to oppose them, as in that case Armenia would sustain only
damages.” According to Kocharian, Armenia may even gain if it carries
a flexible and correct policy. He said the Central Bank is the body
that is responsible for carrying out that kind of policy. “A great
deal depends on you,” Kocharian said, meaning members of the Council.
The president said Central Bank officials should have in view that
drastic fluctuations of hard currency exchange rates prompts
speculative deals in the financial markets, urging the Central Bank
to take a more resolute stand and act swiftly to foil them.
The president asked Council members to share their vision of
developments in the domestic financial market (the drastic decline of
US Dollar value against Armenia’s national currency-dram) and their
suggestions what can be done so that the government and people do not
sustain damages and also what can be done to take the opportunity of
a stronger dram in order to boost domestic production.
Kocharian’s press office said Council members presented the
situation in the financial markets and their views on how to
alleviate its aftereffects.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ArmenPress
Dec 10 2004

ELITA LTD LAUNCHES DRY YEAST PRODUCTION FACILITY

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS: Elita Ltd., the sole producer of
yeast in Armenia, has launched today its new dry yeast production
facility in Yeghvard, Kotayk Marz. The company was initially designed
to produce wet yeast to compete with Iranian wet yeast imports in the
local market. The management of the company decided to expand its
operations by launching a dry yeast production line to cater for the
needs of smaller commercial and household bakers. The opening
ceremony was attended by the governor of Kotayk Marz, Mr. John Evans,
the U.S. Ambassador, other honorable guests.
The construction of dry yeast production facility started in 2003
with the help of DAI-ASME, USAID financed project. DAI-ASME provided
day-to-day consulting assistance in strategic planning as well as
financial assistance in the form of a grant to cover part of the
construction cost of the new facility.
In 1992, when Armenia faced a huge deficit of bakery yeast as a
result of the blockade by Azerbaijan, the founders of Elita Ltd. –
four graduates from Food Industrial Technological Institute in Kiev,
Ukraine – decided to establish a factory to produce bakery yeast in
Armenia.
Today Elita is the only producer and supplier of wet yeast in the
local market and has captured 10% of the yeast (wet and dry) market.
Currently, over 50 large Armenian bakeries use Elita’s wet yeast.
The company now employs 25 people. This number will grow to 50 when
new operations are fully developed. Dry yeast produced by Elita will
compete and gradually replace imported Iranian and Turkish brands.
The new facility will enable the company to produce 6-8 tons of dry
yeast during the first year of operations and supply up to 50% of the
country’s need for yeast products in 2006. Export opportunities to
Georgia will be considered as total production increases and local
market needs are satisfied.
The company is managed by three shareholders.

Gulf Daily News, Bahrain
Dec 10 2004

Spiritual leader set for visit

THE spiritual leader of the Armenian community for Kuwait and the GCC
countries will be in Bahrain to officiate mass at the Awali Chapel at
7.30pm tonight. This will be followed by a dinner at the Majestic
Hotel in Juffair at around 10pm. Archbishop Dr Goriun Babyan will be
arriving from Kuwait and will be accompanied by a priest from the
parish in Sharjah, Father Aram Deylrmandjian. There are 52 Armenians
arriving from Saudi Arabia, who will join the small Armenian
community in Bahrain, which numbers around 25 people.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
December 10, 2004, Friday

AZERBAIJAN WILL STRENGTHEN ITS ARMED FORCES

Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is not the topic of negotiations –
it must be restored, and the invaders must leave the republic’s
territory. Only after that the issue of the peace treaty can be
raised. (…) This statement was made by President Ilham Aliyev of
Azerbaijan at a government meeting on December 7. (…)

Azerbaijan will focus on military construction. (…) Aliyev stated:
“The defense budget will increase by 30% next year. Later on we will
be able to increase it by 50%, 100% and 200%. Azerbaijan’s economic
potential makes this task realistic. Armenia cannot compete with us.
Armenia’s budget amounts to only $500 million. Azerbaijan spends $250
million on its army.”

Source: Turan information agency (Baku), December 8, 2004

Translated by Alexander Dubovoi

The Times (London)
December 10, 2004, Friday

EU rules out Ukraine entry

by Anthony Browne Brussels Correspondent

HUNDREDS of thousands of Ukrainians have braved the snows of Kiev for
two weeks to demand their right to join the West. But their country
faces a certain rebuff by the European Union.

Viktor Yushchenko, the pro-Western presidential candidate, said in an
American newspaper interview yesterday that EU membership would be
his top priority if he were elected on December 26.

In Brussels, however, the European Commission said: “Our position has
not changed.

Membership is not on the agenda.” Instead, the commission announced a
partnership plan for greater co-operation with Ukraine to boost ties
with its closest neighbours once it holds free and fair elections.

Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, who takes up the
EU’s rotating presidency next month, said: “I can only warn against
offering Ukraine the prospect of full membership. We need a special
relationship with Ukraine that does justice to its strategic
importance.”

Ukraine’s possible membership is an acutely awkward subject for
European leaders.

“We just try to avoid the question when asked. The fact that Ukraine
never applied has made the decision easier but now it is far more
difficult,” said an EU diplomat. Although keen to support democracy
in the largest country wholly in Europe, EU leaders are concerned
that the bloc’s inability to say no to potential members means that
it is growing too big to control.

The EU has just expanded to 25 members by accepting ten mainly poor
Eastern European countries, among them Poland and Hungary. Bulgaria
and Romania are joining in 2007, and Turkey, almost entirely in Asia,
is already on track to become the biggest, and poorest, member in
about another ten years. The Balkan states, such as Croatia and
Macedonia, have also been accepted as potential members.

Many politicians fear that the EU simply will not be able to cope
with another country as poor, large and chaotic as Ukraine. Allowing
Ukraine in would also open the door for other countries such as
Belarus, Moldova, Georgia (which recently said that it wanted to
join), Azerbaijan and Armenia, bringing the total to nearly 40
countries.

To control its expansion, the EU set an arbitrary official limit that
its eastern border would be the western border of the former USSR,
with the exception of the three Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania
and Estonia. Romano Prodi, the former President of the European
Commission, said that Ukraine was as likely as New Zealand to become
a member. But if Mr Yushchenko wins the election on December 26, the
EU will probably be faced with irresistible pressure to let Ukraine
join.

The new Eastern European states, three of which have a border with
Ukraine, are keen to curb instability on their doorstep by letting
Ukraine in. An East European diplomat said: “We should not cut it
off. People are asking, ‘If Turkey can join, why not Ukraine?’ It is
clearly much closer to Europe.”

The British Government, which has always been a strong supporter of
enlargement and is Turkey’s main backer, is noncommittal on Ukraine.
France, like Luxembourg, is strongly opposed, concerned that it will
just turn the EU into a simple free trade zone.

Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said: “The
fact that Turkey is joining means it is only a matter of time before
Ukraine becomes a candidate.

“There is no good reason for it not to join. The (commission policy)
opposing Ukraine is simply not credible, and France will have to
follow the majority view on this.”

HOW UKRAINE MEASURES UP

The country’s GDP was £2,800 per capita in 2003, compared with an EU
average of £14,900

Average life expectancy is 68 (78 within the EU)

Ukraine has one of the world’s highest literacy rates: over 99.5 per
cent of the population over 15 rated as literate

Source: World Bank – World Development Indicators database

Agence France Presse — English
December 10, 2004 Friday 7:15 PM GMT

AFP Interview: Democratic reform in Ukraine will help Russia, says
Georgian FM

MOSCOW

Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili said on Friday that
Russia should realise the benefits for itself of a process of
democratic reform in Ukraine, currently undergoing a period of
political crisis.

Speaking to AFP by phone from the Georgian capital Tbilisi,
Zurabishvili said that in order for the rerun of the second round of
Ukrainian presidential elections to take place peacefully, Russia
must be “warned against the temptation to meddle.”

She said in addition that as many observers as possible should be
deployed in the country for the vote, scheduled to take place on
December 26.

“If Ukraine becomes a democratic country at the frontier of Europe
there can only be winners,” including Russia, she said, adding that
“having borders with stable, democratic countries is something that
could set (Russia) along the same path.”

“Everything must be done to encourage Russia down this path, one
which is difficult to take,” she said.

“What is happening in Russia amounts to an internal decolonisation.
We must encourage them, support them, and help them down this
difficult path, the only one possible if Russia is to evolve in a way
that is sufficiently responsible and safe for both itself and its
neighbours,” she added.

As far as the recent strong criticism levelled by Moscow over the
West’s alleged interference in Ukraine was concerned, and in
particular comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zurabishvili
spoke of a “constant swing between signs that Russia is moving
towards a possible normalisation and and signs that it is slipping
backwards.”

Questioned about the Russian accusations, Zurabishvili said that
there had been no intervention.

“We did not intervene in favour of one candidate of the other. We
intervened in favour of a democratic process,” she said.

“As long as Russia imagines that support for democracy, whether it is
in the Caucasus, Ukraine or elsewhere, is something that is directed
against it, Moscow will fail to understand the way the world is
going.”

The Georgian foreign minister described Moscow’s manifestation of
discontent as “a return to the instincts of the Soviet Union.”

“The big difference is that it does not have any effect any more.
Russian short fuses, which in the past petrified the West, are today
received in a more measured, philosophical way… and do not achieve
the desired effect.”

Zurabishvili also called on Russia to keep out of Georgia’s quarrels
with the separatist republic of Abkhazia, saying that Moscow must
“understand that former Soviet republics had become independent
countries” and that Moscow could not interfere directly in their
affairs.

Abkhazia has de facto independence from Georgia since it defeated
Georgian troops with the help of Russian mercenaries in the early
1990s in the aftermath of the breakup of the Soviet Union.

On the recent decision by Azerbaijan to shut down its cargo rail
traffic to other Caucasus republics because it feared that some of
the goods were being delivered via Georgia to its arch-foe Armenia,
Zurabishvili said Georgia had good relations with both countries.

She said Tbilisi had agreed to prevent transit through its territory
of military goods. But she added: “We refuse to take any economic
sanctions against Armenia.”

She said that if Georgia was anything other than neutral in the
dispute between the two countries, “we would enter into a logic of
escalation which would be not only damaging for us and for our
neighbours, but for the whole region.”

December 10, 2004

UE: TURCHIA; BONINO, SULL’ADESIONE MARGHERITA COME LEGA? ;
GRAVE FIRMA DIELLE A EMENDAMENTI CONTRO APERTURA NEGOZIATI

ROMA

(ANSA) – ROMA, 10 DIC – “Ieri al Parlamento Europeo la
stragrande maggioranza dei deputati della Margherita, e in
particolare Vittorio Prodi, Enrico Letta, Alfonso Andria,
Patrizia Toia, Paolo Costa, ha sottoscritto tre emendamenti
presentati dai colleghi francesi del Partito Democratico,
contrari all’apertura dei negoziati con la Turchia. Questi
emendamenti di fatto dicono no all’apertura dei negoziati se non
a nuove condizioni”. Lo ha detto a Radio Radicale Emma Bonino,
in un collegamento in diretta questa mattina.

Una notizia “arrivata davvero come una sorpresa, un fulmine
a ciel sereno”, spiega l’europarlamentare radicale, “perche
io sono relatrice nel gruppo liberale, ne abbiamo discusso, e in
quella sede l’onorevole Pistelli e’ intervenuto per dire che era
favorevole al testo che avevo presentato”.

“Il primo degli emendamenti dice che prerequisito per
l’avvio dei negoziati e’ il riconoscimento da parte dei turchi
del genocidio armeno. Il secondo – ha detto l’europarlamentare
radicale – dice che bisogna negoziare non solo l’ipotesi di
adesione ma anche quella di una partnership speciale. Il terzo
sopprime la proposta di dare il via libera al Consiglio europeo
per iniziare i negoziati”.

La Bonino ha anche aggiunto che Pistelli “ha affermato che
la firma dei parlamentari della Margherita si deve intendere
come ‘tecnica’, apposta solo per consentire ai deputati francesi
di presentare la proposta. Io pero’ ho fatto notare a Pistelli
che questa posizione non sta in piedi. I colleghi francesi non
avrebbero avuto alcuna difficolta’ a ‘trovare delle firme’
nell’ambito dell’Europarlamento”.

“Non so se sia il risultato dell’incontro di ieri, con la
nascita del Partito democratico di Bayrou e Rutelli, ma di fatto
– ha concluso la Bonino – la Margherita e la Lega si esprimono
con gli stessi emendamenti, contro l’apertura dei negoziati.
Trovo che sia grave”.

PanArmenian News
Dec 10 2004

FIRST PUBLIC CONFERENCE OF SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHETIA TO BE HELD IN
AKHALKALAK DECEMBER 11

10.12.2004 17:03

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The first public conference of Samtskhe-Javaketia
arranged by the Council of Public Organizations of the region will be
held in Akhalkalak on December 11. According to A-info news agency,
the conference is not to become the only one – similar forums
dedicated to cultural and language issues as well as to the problems
of the local self-government will be regularly held henceforth. The
present conference will be held under the slogan of “Integration but
not merging”. The initiators have chosen the motto to say that public
organizations of Samtskhe-Javakhetia are against the policy of
merging pursued by the Georgian leadership.

Associated Press
Dec 8 2004

Brief news stories from Las Vegas:

Death Penalty Case

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Jurors began the death penalty phase Wednesday in
the trial of a 46-year-old part-time jewelry repairman found guilty
of bludgeoning and robbing his two employers in September 2003.

The same jury spent less than an hour deliberating Tuesday before
convicting Avetis Archanian of first-degree murder and robbery in the
slayings of 86-year-old Juana Quiroga and her 68-year-old daughter,
Elisa Del Prado.

Archanian’s trial, which lasted less than a week, included
surveillance video appearing to show him in the World
Merchants-Importers store in downtown Las Vegas store the morning of
the slayings.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger said Archanian used a
hammer and ring sizer to bludgeon Juana Quiroga, who died at the
scene. Del Prado died from her injuries in March.

Defense lawyer Mace Yampolsky asked the jury to spare Archanian’s
life. He said Archanian, an Armenian who moved to the United States
from the former Soviet Union in 1977, had no prior criminal record.

CENN – DECEMBER 9, 2004 DAILY DIGEST
Table of Contents:
1. BTC Construction Preserves
2. Eurasia Foundation Pledges $2 Million in Grants for 2005
3. Authorities Vow To Dismantle Another 15 Illegal Petrol Stations
4. Nuclear and Radiation Safety Armenia’s State Priority
5. Gas alternative guarantees independence
6. Agreement on Sale of Zangezur Plant to be Signed After December 13
7. Gyulkassyan’s Group Implements USDA-CARES -ICAR-CAC Project
8. European regional meeting is being held in Yerevan
9. Award Announced for Young Ec-Heros

1. BTC CONSTRUCTION PRESERVES

Source: The Messenger, December 8, 2004

The construction of the Georgian segment of the BTC pipeline is
scheduled to be finished by March 2005 and despite two recent
business setbacks for the overall pipeline construction in Georgia is
progressing.

After the completion of the Georgian section the pipeline in Turkey must
also be completed and then filled with oil. As soon as BTC
begins operating, construction will begin on the parallel Shah-Deniz
natural gas pipeline project. The implementation of the both
projects is of vital political and energy security spheres.

Although the pipeline is nearing completion – Natik Aliev, head of the
State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), told
reports in late November, `We expect the Azerbaijani section to be
launched in January and the Georgian section in March,’
problems have also surfaced in the overall business plan.

At the same press conference, Aliev announced that construction costs
have increased over preliminary estimates. He noted, ‘Turkey
assures us that its section will be ready by the end of March, although
BTC shareholders are a little pessimistic.’ Also in November, a
British parliamentary committee held a hearing relating to the
pipeline’s safety standards, though little new revelations or
accusations
were made.

More serious business issues are that last week one of the largest
Italian banks – Banca Intesa announced it was selling its share in the
financing of the pipeline. The Financial Times reported that the bank
was selling hits stake at a loss from the original loan amount.
Another setback came when ExxonMobile announced it was signing contracts
to ship crude oil by rail over next five years. thus
skirting the BTC. UK’s Sunday Times described the move as `American
penny pinching’ that `is as much a political embarrassment
as a financial blow to BP.’

But despite these setbacks, they cannot hinder the successful completion
of the pipe. A solid core of investors – and governments –
are keenly interested in its operation and price increases can be easily
defrayed thanks to the high price of crude in the world market.

In Georgia, the president of GIOC (Georgian International Oil
Corporation) Nika Vashakidze tells the paper Rezonansi that BTC
construction has played an important role in developing the Georgian
economy. Most of the investments have already been made in
connection to the project he states; adding that new jobs were created
and a variety of Georgian companies were involved in its
construction.

The operation of BTC will also deliver budgetary revenues and increased
global importance of Georgia. Once the sister pipeline
Shah-Deniz starts pumping natural gas to Turkey via Georgia, the country
will significantly strengthen the security of its natural gas
supply system. According to current calculation Azeri natural gas could
reach Georgia by the end of 2006, thus giving Georgia a viable
alternative to Russian Gazprom supplies.

2. EURASIA FOUNDATION PLEDGES $2 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR 2005

Source: ArmenPress, December 6, 2004

The director of the Eurasia Foundation Armenia office, Ara Nazinian,
told at the news conference last Friday that the Foundation
plans to provide Armenian non-governmental organizations with around $2
million grants next year. Since its inception in Armenia in
1995 the Foundation has made available some 600 grants totaling $20
million.

The bulk of that money came from the USAID, other major donors were
well-known Armenian Diaspora financial
organizations-Lincy Foundation, Kafesjian and Izmirlian Foundations, as
well as the Open Society Institute.

In the outgoing year the Eurasia Foundation has funded 70 projects with
a total budget of $1.5 million and has approved another 25
new projects worth some $600,000. Almost two third of funding goes to
NGOs working in Armenia’s regions. Ara Nazinian said the
policy of the Foundation is to shift the work and investments from the
capital Yerevan to regions.

He said the main focus of next year’s projects would be on projects of
regional importance, which will cover improvement of business
environment, development of local self-management bodies, improvement of
conditions of local mass media and introduction of high
technology in higher educational system.

Along with that the Eurasia Foundation will fund all other projects that
contain innovations and tend to strengthen of democratic
society.

3. AUTHORITIES VOW TO DISMANTLE ANOTHER 15 ILLEGAL PETROL STATIONS

Source: ArmenPress, December 6, 2004

Yerevan authorities have vowed to dismantle another 15 petrol-filling
stations by the end of the year, which were built in violation of
rules. A municipality official said the authorities started drawing the
overall inventory last spring and have so far closed or dismantled
100 such stations, kiosks, car washing points and other outlets. He said
after a thorough study some other petrol filling stations would
be pulled down.

He said the goal of the inventory is to identify illegally operating
outlets, to dismantle those that were built in violation of the accepted

standards.

4. NUCLEAR AND RADIATION SAFETY ARMENIA’S STATE PRIORITY

Source: ITAR-TASS News Agency, December 6, 2004

Yerevan, December 6 — The nuclear and radiation safety is now among
Armenia’s state priorities. This is defined by amendments to
the republic’s law On Safe Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy that was
passed by Armenian parliament and was signed by President
Robert Kocharyan on Monday, Itar-Tass learned from the Armenian
president’s press service.

The Armenian legislation is amended to bring it in accordance with the
safety standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA).

Under the law, only the republic’s citizens can assume the posts that
entail responsibility for the safe functioning of nuclear facilities.
The law requires the tightening of control over nuclear materials and
protection of nuclear power plants. The law on insolvency
(bankruptcy) does not apply to the Armenian nuclear power plant.

The nuclear power plant that went into operation in 1979 was shut down
in 1989, several months after the devastative earthquake.
The plant was reactivated with the participation of Russian specialists
in 1996, and industrial operation of the second reactor was
resumed.

Electricity generated by the nuclear power plant now accounts for 38
percent of Armenia’s energy balance. The European Union
demands that Armenia shut down the plant. The Armenian authorities
believe this could be possible only if there were alternative
sources of energy.

>From last year, the management of the financial and economic activity of
the nuclear power plant went to InterRAO UES, the
subsidiary of RAO UES, the Unified Energy Systems of Russia.

5. GAS ALTERNATIVE GUARANTEES INDEPENDENCE

Source: Yerkir/arm, December 3, 2004

Start of construction of Iran-Armenia gas pipe is now a reality. The
negotiations that started back in 1992 are now in the history and
the 141 km long pipe will now raise the energetic independence of our
country.

The Iran-Armenia gas pipe will be an alternative source in situations,
when our country runs into blind alleys, which was the case in
1992-94. Note that gas provides energy to 35-40 per cent of Armenian
production. Naturally, explosions of the only gas pipelines
cause emergencies, which will be avoided due to the new pipe.

In addition, the new pipe will spur competition with the Russian gas
pipe that will get a grip on the prices. Another way for cheap gas
can be the Turkmenistan gas coming through this new pipe. By 2007
Armenia will import from Iran a quantity of gas equal to what it
now imports from Russia. And the quantity is supposed to double it by
2019.

The expenditures will be 220 million dollars, out of which Armenia will
need to pay 30 million (via a credit from Iranian bank).
Later on, it will be necessary to construct a pipe through
Kajaran-Sisian-Jermuk-Ararat-Yerevan will cost 90 million dollars.
Possible
sponsors are now being negotiated.

Another planned project is construction of a hydro power station on
Araks river, which will also be probably sponsored through
Iranian bank loans.

In addition, it is likely that not only factories will be consuming the
gas from Iran but also the regular population, 70 per cent of which
is now deprived of such facilities.

6. AGREEMENT ON SALE OF ZANGEZUR PLANT TO BE SIGNED AFTER DECEMBER 13

Source: ArmenPress, December 7, 2004

Armenian trade and economic development ministry said the agreement with
Germany’s Cronimet on purchase of 75% of shares in
Armenia’s Zangezur copper and molybdenum plant will be signed after
December 13, 2004. Earlier minister Karen Chshmaritian said
it would be signed by December 5. The ministry said the agreement is
being now finalized. Under the deal the German company will
pay $132 million for 75% of the stock.

Half of the remaining stock (12.5%) will be transferred to Armenian
Molybdenum Production (AMP), set up last year in Yerevan to
process molybdenum; the other 12.5% will go to management company
Zangezur Mining, created recently by the plant’s workforce
and administration.

Cronimet has said it is ready to credit AMP and Zangezur Mining to
enable them to acquire their portion of stock. Cronimet owns
48% of the stock in Yerevan’s Pure Iron, which processes molybdenum
concentrate produced by Zangezur plant.

7. GYULKASSYAN’S GROUP IMPLEMENTS USDA-CARES -ICAR-CAC PROJECT

Source: ArmenPress, December 7, 2004

In May 2004, the Laboratory of Plant Genetic Resources at the Armenian
Agricultural Academy (AAA) was provided with a grant
from USDA CSREES International Cooperation for Agricultural Research
(ICAR) in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) Project
() to implement
its research proposal on “Conservation and utilization in
breeding of wild relatives of cereals in Armenia”.

According to Michael Gyulkhasyan, head of the group, the main goal of
the project is to conserve genetic resources of wild cereal
relatives and save the unique plant gene pool in Armenia. Wild wheat
samples were collected during the expeditions in Ararat and
Vayots Dzor marzes, and Erebuni reservation in Yerevan. Usage of these
wild cereal species as initial breeding materials and crossing
them with cultivated varieties will create new hybrids with economically
important features, such as resistance to diseases, pests, and
drought.

The AAA group collaborates with Kansas State University within the
project. According to Dr. Gyulkhasyan, USDA CSREES ICAR
provides an excellent opportunity for Armenian agrarian research
institutions to achieve breeding improvements and introduce these
achievements into breeding practice. Professor Gyulkhasyan’s project was
one of the three winners from the 125 project proposals.
The project started with a visit by USDA CSREES ICAR, Washington State
University and CYMMIT representatives. It’s a
two-year project and will continue next year.

8. EUROPEAN REGIONAL MEETING IS BEING HELD IN YEREVAN

Source: Azg/arm, December 8, 2004

The convention signed in Iranian Ramsar city in 1971 is the only one
that is directed to preservation of concrete eco-systems, in the
given case, the preservation of wet territories, the dwelling places of
water birds. Armenia joined this convention in 1993, representing
the Lake of Sevan and the Arpi Lake with its neighboring swamps in the
list of preservation and restoration. In the course of the
membership the fund of the convention financed 4 Armenian projects.

A new project was elaborated for the Javakhk areas of special
preservation. KFW bank will allocate $2,2 million for the
implementation of the project.

European regional meeting is being held in Yerevan on December 4-8. 70
foreign ecology experts are participating in the meeting. The
participants of the conference will visit the national part of Sevan,
Ayrivank and Sevan Hydro.

9. AWARD ANNOUNCED FOR YOUNG ECO-HEROES

Are you a Young Eco-Hero? Do you know a Young Eco-Hero?

Action for Nature (AFN) is seeking applications from students from
around the world 8 to 16 years old for its 2005 International
Young Eco-Hero Awards Program. This program recognizes the individual
accomplishments of young people who have carried out
environmental action projects. Projects must concern environmental
action, advocacy, environmental health, research, or protection of
the natural world.

For a printable version of a flyer about Young Eco-Hero Awards Program
click:

Cash prizes up to $500 will be awarded. Applications must be postmarked
by February 28, 2005.

Click on for
guidelines and an application form. There you can also find
information about the 2003 and 2004 award winners.

The 2004 award winners include Janine Licare (14), who helps to save
endangered animals in Costa Rica; Christina Faust (16) of
Georgia, who studies the vegetation around streams to better understand
how plants contribute to the streams ecosystem; and Salaar
Khan (11) of Pakistan, who influences his neighbors to use cloth bags
and eliminate the toxins created when plastic bags are burned.

Action for Nature is an environmental, education and advocacy non-profit
that encourages young people to take personal action to
better the environment, and to foster love and respect for nature.
Based in San Francisco, California, the board and staff of Action for
Nature believe that the long-term health of our planet requires that
young people learn the importance of understanding and caring for
the natural world.

Contact information: (post cards & flyers available from)
Action For Nature, 2269 Chestnut Street, #263, San Francisco, CA 94123,
USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Visit us at

—
*******************************************
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)

Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: