Cihan Sultanoğlu (a Turk) is trying hard to repair history with Armenia with UN money !

Click here for this story @ ArmRadio: http://www.armradio.am/en/2013/10/07/undp-and-its-partners-join-efforts-to-restore-historical-cultural-heritage-in-gyumri/

The city of Gyumri is gifted with rich historical and cultural monuments. During centuries a unique architectural style has been formed in Gyumri, with more than 1,600 historical-architectural buildings covering an area of about 220 hectares. Most of them were built in the same period – 19th and beginning of 20th centuries. However, during the recent years the city’s historical and cultural heritage has suffered due to the 1988 devastating earthquake and insufficient funding and investments by public and private sectors. This, in its turn, hindered community development and investment flows to the second largest city of Armenia.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Armenia and the RA Ministry of Culture, with the financial support of the Government of Italy, initiated a project aimed at regeneration of the urban environment in the city of Gyumri, thus making it more attractive place to live, visit and work and contributing to its socio-economic revival. Within the framework of the project, one of Gyumri’s historical buildings, constructed in 1860-1913 and considered as a constituent part of history and architecture of the city, was renovated to serve as a public library for the residents of the city.

Armenia's Government strongly opposes Cihan Sultanoğlu's plan to move UNDP Bratislava to Turkey

Cihan Sultanoğlu 

Scandal !

Click here to read this in full @ PanArmenian : http://panarmenian.net/m/eng/news/142052

Foreign Ministry addresses issue of UNDP office transfer to Turkey

Armenian Foreign Ministry is currently addressing the issue of the planned transfer of UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre for Europe to Istanbul, Ministry spokesman said.

As Tigran Balayan told PanARMENIAN.Net, Cyprus and Slovenia share Armenia’s concerns over the plan to move UNDP center to Turkey.

Armenian civil society representatives addressed a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, voicing deep concerns over the plan to move UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre for Europe to Istanbul, head of For Sustainable Human Development NGO and UNEP National Committee said.
As Karine Danielyan told a press conference, Armenia’s 15 NGOs joined the initiative, with the decision on the move taken once the information was released.

“Armenian Foreign Ministry has already issued an official statement; however, we found it appropriate to take relevant steps on the issue,” she said.

Ms Danielyan further noted that Armenia finds it inappropriate to move a regional center to a country that failed to recognize the Armenian Genocide and establish diplomatic relations with some of the states in the region.

“Moreover, Turkey is not an EU member. It is still guided by Article 301 of Constitution, which restricts freedom of speech, hampers the free development of national minorities, the latter, in turn, bringing about internal conflicts and deaths of prominent public figures (Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink’s murder),” she said.

“We hope that the UN will be committed to its principles and won’t prioritize the funding Turkey offers,” Ms Danielyan said, urging the international community to focus on the problem that may adversely affect the implementation of the programs of the UNDP Regional Center both on regional and country level.

According to her, Cyprus and Slovenia have already joined the call, with Russia also having expressed concerns over the plan.

Click here to read this in full @ PanArmenian : http://panarmenian.net/m/eng/news/142052

Yerevan is among the most corrupt cities in the world - but UNDP finds a couple of millions $$ to fund an interactive website for the city !

Armenia's Capital City Launches Interactive Municipal Website

Click here for this story in full @ techpresident.com: http://techpresident.com/news/wegov/23120/armenias-capital-city-launches-interactive-municipal-website

Launched in the capital, Yerevan, on November 1, the site is funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). It is an attempt to encourage residents of Armenia’s largest city, by some accounts home to just under half of the country’s population of 3 million, to engage with the municipality, which became an elected body in 2009, following the constitutional amendments of 2005.

Click here for this story in full @ techpresident.com: http://techpresident.com/news/wegov/23120/armenias-capital-city-launches-interactive-municipal-website

UNDP Adaptation Bulletin Showcases Initiatives in Armenia and Albania

Click here for this in full at Climate Change Policy : http://climate-l.iisd.org/news/undp-adaptation-bulletin-showcases-initiatives-in-armenia-and-albania/165181/

November 2012: The October issue of the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) quarterly Adaptation Bulletin features articles on: supporting climate change adaptation in Armenia and Albania; and training Asian government officials to internalize the economics of adaptation into national investment and planning decisions.
In addition to the Armenian and Albanian projects, the Bulletin highlights UNDP support for similar adaptation initiatives in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The Bulletin notes that the UNDP adaptation initiative in Armenia’s mountain forest ecosystems integrated climate change risk management into biodiversity and forest management practices to address forest degradation and fragmentation, invasive species and wildfires. It indicates that the initiative recently introduced early warning systems and forest health monitoring tools to mainstream climate change risks into forest management planning. According to the Bulletin, the project has made significant progress in improving wildfire management through, inter alia, building disaster risk resilience, enhancing cross-institutional coordination and promoting national ownership.
In Albania, the Bulletin describes how local communities in the Drini-Mati River Delta identified biodiversity and species loss, pressure on dunes and groundwater systems and threats to agriculture, infrastructure and tourism as key concerns, during a UNDP-facilitated climate risk assessment, prioritization and adaptation process. The communities proposed preventing coastal erosion and flood protection through traditional materials use and increasing connectivity of coastal protected areas through bio-corridors. Government officials are now evaluating these proposed coastal adaptation measures for policy adoption and integration.
The Bulletin further describes a collaborative UNDP and the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) ADAPT Asia-Pacific capacity building programme is training technical government officers on the economics of adaptation, including how adaptation relates to medium and long-term national, sub-national and sectoral development plans and budgets. The programme also trains officers to use cost-benefit tools to evaluate adaptation investment projects for financing by different funds, including the Adaptation Fund (AF), Green Climate Fund (GCF), Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF).
The Bulletin also includes sections on resources, announcements and portfolio information. The Bulletin is produced by UNDP-Global Environmental Facility’s (GEF) Environment and Energy Group. [UNDP Adaptation Bulletin]

Click here for this in full at Climate Change Policy : http://climate-l.iisd.org/news/undp-adaptation-bulletin-showcases-initiatives-in-armenia-and-albania/165181/