Vahe Davtyan, Deputy Minister of Environment of the RA, accompanied by a high-level Swedish delegation, including Karin Juhlin, State Secretary to the Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Sweden, and representatives of partner organizations, visited the area of the “RESILAND: Armenia Resilient Landscape” project in Ararat Valley.
The delegation visited Khor Virap wetland, which is included in the list of wetlands of international importance, where the progress of the project and ongoing restoration works were presented.
The project aims to expand areas under sustainable landscape management and promote sustainable economic activities in target communities.
In autumn 2019, under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment, and on the initiative of BirdLinks Armenia NGO with the financial support of the Caucasus Nature Fund (CNF), measures were undertaken to restore the ecosystem of Khor Virap wetland. An area of 3.9 hectares was created using nature-based solutions, consisting of three wetlands separated by islets.
According to observations conducted in 2017–2019 and following the intervention in 2020–2021, a significant increase in both nesting and migratory bird populations was recorded. The number of nesting bird species increased from 38 to 55, while the number of stopover species rose from 31 to 61.