Acopian Center for the Environment Co-Organizes United Nations Workshop on Governance for Sustainable Development

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Yerevan, Armenia – A 3-day international conference, entitled “Governance and Public Administration Capacity Building for Sustainable Development” was held in Yerevan from October 8-10, 2014.

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs organized the event, hosted by the Government of Armenia, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program.

Partnering with the UN and the Government of Armenia to organize specific plenary sessions and workshops were the American University of Armenia’s Acopian Center for the Environment, the Armenian State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abovyan, and the Regional Hub of Civil Service in Astana.

More than 60 representatives from 20 countries attended the international conference. The plenary sessions comprised discussions of issues related to public administration, education and science, natural resources, green economy, sustainable energy and water policies, as well as other areas relevant to sustainable development.

Alen Amirkhanian, director of the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment, curated the fourth plenary session of the workshop devoted to governance toward a green economy and sustainable use of natural resources, focusing especially on energy and water.

Below are the topics and speakers for the Plenary Session organized by the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment. For a full program of the 3-day Conference, visit here.

Plenary Session IV: Developing Sustainable Models of Natural Resource Governance

Chairperson: Mr. Artashes Bakhshyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration, Republic of Armenia

Session curator: Mr. Alen Amirkhanyan, Director, AUA Acopian Center for the Environment and AUA Center for Responsible Mining, American University of Armenia (AUA)

Green Economy Policy and Governance

Presenter 1: Mr. Alen Amirkhanyan, Director, AUA Acopian Center for the Environment and AUA Center for Responsible Mining, American University of Armenia (Policies for a Green Economy: Framing the Governance of Natural Resources)

Presenter 2: Dr. Tatoul Manaseryan, Founder and Director, Alternative Research Center; Dr. of Economics, Professor, Yerevan State University (Challenges and Opportunities of Green Economy in Emerging Markets: Case of Armenia)

Sustainable Energy Policy and Governance

Presenter 3: Dr. Daniel Mazmanian, Professor and Academic Director, Arnold Schwarzenegger Institute of State and Global Policy, Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California, USA (Energy Policy and the Transition to Sustainable Development)

Presenter 4: Mr. Oleg Dzioubinski, Economic Affairs Officer, Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Energy Division, UN Economic Commission for Europe (Regional Action Plan on Energy-Efficiency Policies in the CIS)

Sustainable Water Policy and Governance

Presenter 5: Ms. Maria Mehranian, Managing Partner, Cordoba Corporation and Member of the California State Water Quality Control Board of Los Angeles Region, USA. (Developing Sustainable Water Policy and Infrastructure: the Case of California)

Presenter 6: Mr. Fedor Klimtchouk, Deputy Head, United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia (Role of Preventive Diplomacy in Facilitating Solutions to Problems Related to the Management of Trans-boundary Water Resources)

Caption from left: Garegin Manukyan (UNDESA, AUA alum), Dan Mazmanian (University of Southern California), Jean-Mary Kauzya (UNDESA), Frank Zerunyan (University of Southern California), Artashes Bakhshyan (Ministry of Territorial Administration, Armenia), Maria Mehranian (Cordoba Corp., US), and Alen Amirkhanian (AUA Acopian Center for the Environment).