FNI project: Environmental management and civil society in Armenia

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Environmental Management and Civil Society in Armenia

The aim of this project has been three-fold. The first aim has been to explore the implementation process of Armenia's environmental commitments. Environmental issues have in recent years increasingly appeared on the international agenda. Two of the international agreements focused upon in this study – the Kyoto Protocol and the Convention on Biological Diversity – have introduced the principle of horizontal sector integration of environmental policy. That is, environmental concerns should be given priority in all branches of government. Yet governments in most industrialised countries have only just started the process of implementing these principles. Thus, central in our investigation has been how environmental management has been organised and to what extent environmental considerations have been present in the decision-making process in various branches of government in Armenia.

Second, the project has seeked to establish scientific and educational exchange between Caucasian and Norwegian universities and research institutions within the social sciences. Strong scientific communities in the social sciences are necessary to ensure the ongoing democratization of the Armenian society and good governance. The project has also aimed to investigate, in close co-operation with Armenian educational and research institutions, the role of civil society in the governmental decision-making process. To what extent are the general public and various NGOs included in governmental affairs? Does civil society have access to decision-making processes? How are the linkages between government, civil society and business organised? Special emphasis has been on ecological and energy issues.

Third, the project has seeked to include all the three Southern Caucasian republics and to attract students and young researchers from all the Caucasian republics and autonomous regions. It was hoped that joint participation in educational courses in Oslo on democratic societies, peace making and conflict solution should prove to be a positive contribution to the reconciliation process in the Caucasus.

FNI project team:
Pål W. Skedsmo (project leader)
Steinar Andresen
Peter Johan Schei

Project period: 2005-2008

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