ARMENIA TREE PROJECT
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PRESS RELEASE
June 2, 2008
ATP’s Nursery Micro-Enterprise Program Recognized as National Winner of
Energy Globe Award for Sustainability
— Kofi Annan and Mikhail Gorbachev Address Evening Gala Program at European
Parliament in Brussels
BRUSSELS, Belgium–The backyard nursery micro-enterprise program being
implemented by Armenia Tree Project (ATP) was selected as the National
Winner for Armenia of the Energy Globe Awards, also known as the World Award
for Sustainability. ATP representatives attended the awards ceremony on May
26 at the European Parliament in Brussels, where the program was selected
from among 853 projects from 109 nations.
During the televised evening gala attended by 1,000 guests in the Plenary
Hall of the EU Parliament, an honorary Energy Globe Award was presented to
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mikhail Gorbachev. EU Parliament President
Hans-Gert Pottering and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
presented the award to Mr. Gorbachev for his leadership role as a cofounder
of Green Cross International.
The innovative ATP program recognized by the Energy Globe Awards earlier in
the day is mitigating poverty-driven deforestation by creating
micro-enterprise tree nurseries in the Getik River Valley of northern
Armenia. These nurseries are owned by hundreds Armenia’s most impoverished
families, who have doubled their annual income by participating in the
backyard nursery program.
"ATP initiated this program as a pilot project with 17 families in 2004, and
since then it has grown to include 400 families this year who are growing
reforestation seedlings," stated ATP Deputy Director Jason Sohigian after
the awards ceremony. "It has always been our goal that some of the
additional income be invested to reduce reliance on the forests for heating
and cooking fuel by creating an economy for a natural gas infrastructure in
these villages."
"On behalf of our field staff and the creators of this program, we were
honored to be recognized by the Energy Globe Awards for our contribution to
sustainable development in this remote rural region of Armenia," added
Sohigian.
The afternoon program at the European Parliament included remarks by
President Mikhail Gorbachev and Maneka Gandhi, chairwoman of the Energy
Globe Awards jury. The most innovative and sustainable projects from over
100 countries were recognized, from alternative energy projects in
Bangladesh, Georgia, Kenya, Nicaragua, Poland, and Sri Lanka, to forestry
projects in Argentina and Honduras.
"ATP was extremely proud to be selected for this prestigious award," noted
ATP Development Officer Paul Yeghiayan who also attended the event. "It has
been our goal in recent years to reach out and make inroads to the
development community internationally, so we were pleased to be a part of
this program. At the same time we are grateful to our many supporters who
made it possible for ATP to implement this important micro-enterprise
project in the Getik River Valley."
The Energy Globe Awards was initiated by Wolfgang Neumann of Austria in
1999, and he is one of the presidents of the Energy Globe Foundation. Mr.
Neumann has been involved with energy efficiency projects for 25 years and
he has developed significant expertise in the field. During the evening
program, awards went to a Peruvian waste management program, a project
building wells in Mozambique, a parabolic power plant in Spain which
produces emission-free energy, and a South African project that raises youth
awareness of environmental issues. The overall winner was Austrian-based
Fronius International, which operates zero emissions vehicles with hydrogen
fuel produced by photovoltaic cells and electrolysis.
"The award gala in Brussels represents a unique distinction for the winners,
whose projects target greater environmental protection and sustainability in
handling our resources, but also serves as an accolade for the Energy Globe,
which in its nine years has developed to the world’s most prominent
environmental award," read a press release after the event. The television
gala also included remarks by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and EU
Council President Janez Jansa, as well as performances by Dionne Warwick,
Alanis Morissette, and Zucchero.
For more information about the Energy Globe Awards, visit the web site
PHOTO CAPTION: Armenian Ambassador Viguen Tchitetchian (center) with ATP
Development Officer Paul Yeghiayan and Deputy Director Jason Sohigian
(right) at the national Energy Globe Awards program at the European
Parliament in Brussels
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
