Outlook on Climate Change Adaptation in the South Caucasus Mountains

Armenia CASE STUDY

The Third National Communication to UNFCCC: “The Armenian government adopted Protocol Decree No. 16, dated 25 April 2013 “On approval of the concept of the establishment of innovative financial – economical mechanisms in the field of environment”. On this basis, the government adopted Protocol Decree No. 47, dated 14 November 2013, “On approval of the concept of the establishment of innovative financial and economical mechanisms in the field of environment”. These documents show the Armenian government’s commitment to developing proposals on establishing a civic revolving investment fund. The fund is aimed at establishing the relevant financial mechanism for climate change mitigation (GHG emissions reduction and sinks development) and adaptation (combating climate change impact) measures. Fund resources should be created through companies’ environmental fees (those using natural resources and having an impact on the environment)” (MoNP 2015). It is also worth noting that the more detailed and focused governmental policy documents

are, the more likely it is that they include plans for sustained budget financing and therefore, the greater the chance that they will achieve tangible post-implementation results and outputs (see Azerbaijan case above). Finally, property and/or agricultural insurance mechanisms can also be seen as a financial tool for mitigation of climate change risks. While property insurance is not yet widely available in the South Caucasus countries, agricultural insurance, especially public-private, is a suitable protection mechanism for farmers. For example, Georgia has recently established a public-private agro- insurance mechanism which is quite affordable for even small-scale farmers. In 2015, mechanism demonstrated its effectiveness when it offered protection from financial losses arising from a series of extreme weather events. Financial mechanisms to support economic and social development of mountain and high mountain regions are also foreseen by different governmental programmes in the three countries. However, those programmes do not explicitly refer to any climate related actions as such.

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