Forest Restoration and Climate Change in Armenia (FORACCA)

The FORACCA project, funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation, aims to support reforestation efforts on community lands, climate-smart forest management and climate-resilient local development in Armenia. The project provides cutting-edge knowledge and targeted support for policy development and implementation at different impact levels. The project is structured in three components:

1. Piloting agroforestry and forest restoration on community land.
2. Developing climate services for local climate-resilient development (incl. regional climate scenarios and a toolbox for climate adaptation) and implementing them in selected communities.
3. Strengthening the scientific knowledge base and capacities for climate-smart management of trees and forests as well as piloting climate-resilient forest and landscape policies.

Component 1 is planned to be implemented by the Armenian NGO Shen. Components 2 and 3 are planned to be implemented by the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL.

In the FORACCA project, WSL is working with partners from Switzerland and Armenia. We are taking a transdisciplinary approach and aim to develop innovative and localised solutions together with our partners and local beneficiaries. The project builds capacities for sustainable, climate-resilient development in municipalities and supports them in performing their tasks and services more effectively, efficiently and citizen-oriented. The aim is to provide cutting-edge climate-smart knowledge for local development, to support and inform the design of climate policies that incentivize the sustainable use of forest and other natural resources, and to promote local self-governance and the population's trust in municipal and state institutions.