YEREVAN, Armenia — On October 24, the American University of Armenia (AUA) hosted the launch event of a three-year collaboration between the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment and the Forest Restoration and Climate Change in Armenia (FORACCA) project.
Funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the FORACCA project is implemented by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research (WSL) in collaboration with Zoï Environment Network, as well as the Forest Alliance of Armenia.
The event showcased the different types of activities planned for the collaboration, including a series of lectures throughout the project’s duration, with four or five guest speakers per year. Researchers from Switzerland, often from WSL, will present and engage audiences at AUA and in Armenia on their research related to forests, biodiversity, and climate change. The lecture series was inaugurated with the presentation of a remote sensing analysis of vegetation height and land cover in Armenia, conducted by Marius Rüetschi and Christian Ginzler, and delivered by Dr. Dominik Braunschweiger of WSL.
Four additional lectures are planned for the coming year. In preparation for the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP17, to be held in Yerevan in October 2026, the talks will focus on biodiversity, with the following topics slated to be covered: integrating biodiversity standards into municipal land-use regulations; biodiversity in the city; nature-based solutions for a nature-positive economy; and the Swiss common garden network of future tree species.
Another key activity to be undertaken as part of the collaboration is three summer schools, with the first slated for summer 2026. Admission requirements and procedures will be published in the coming months.
Additionally, the FORACCA project has generated and will generate large amounts of remote sensing data on vegetation cover and downscaled climate scenario data that can be used for analyses through bachelor’s or master’s theses. The WSL and AUA teams will identify research questions. The AUA Acopian Center will work with AUA colleges to identify qualifying students and organize for co-supervision of the theses by AUA faculty and WSL experts. AUA students interested in research projects using FORACCA data would need to identify a supervising faculty member at AUA and then contact the AUA Acopian Center, which will facilitate cooperation with WSL experts.
Finally, the Collaboration will enable networking and joint undertakings, such as hosting joint sessions at academic conferences. More immediately, the Swiss Landscape Congress, scheduled for September 2026, offers an opportunity to organize such a joint panel. Opportunities for joint research and student mobility will also be explored.
A video recording of the event is available on the AUA Acopian Center’s YouTube Channel.
For more information and updates on the AUA Acopian Center and WSL FORACCA Collaboration, please visit the Collaboration webpage.
The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment, a research center of the American University of Armenia (AUA), promotes the protection and restoration of the natural environment through research, education, and community outreach. The AUA Acopian Center’s focus areas include sustainable natural resource management, biodiversity protection and conservation, greening the built environment, sustainable energy, as well as information technology and the environment. Visit http://ace.aua.am.
The Forest Restoration and Climate Change in Armenia (FORACCA) project, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), is implemented by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research (WSL) in collaboration with Zoï Environment Network as well as the Forest Alliance of Armenia. Documents produced by implementing partners are the sole responsibility of the implementing partner(s) and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the SDC.
