ARMENIA TREE PROJECT MICRO-ENTERPRISE PROGRAM RECOGNIZED AS NATIONAL WINNER OF ENERGY GLOBE AWARD FOR SUSTAINABILITY
World-Wire
June 11 2008
Kofi Annan and Mikhail Gorbachev Address Evening Gala Program at European Parliament in Brussels
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, June 11, 2008 –/WORLD-WIRE/– 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, where the program was selected from among 853 projects
from 109 nations.
During the televised evening gala in the European Parliament,
an honorary Energy Globe Award was presented to Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Mikhail Gorbachev. Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering
and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso presented the
award to Mr. Gorbachev for his role as a cofounder of Green Cross
International.
The ATP program recognized by the Energy Globe Awards is mitigating
poverty-driven deforestation by creating micro-enterprise tree
nurseries in northern Armenia. These nurseries are owned by hundreds
of Armenia’s most impoverished families, who have doubled their annual
income by participating in the 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. "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 Mr. Sohigian.
"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."
"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 included remarks by
former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, as well as performances by
Dionne Warwick and Alanis Morissette.
ABOUT ARMENIA TREE PROJECT Since 1994, Armenia Tree Project
has planted and restored more than 2,000,000 trees and created
hundreds of jobs for impoverished Armenians in tree-regeneration
programs. The organization’s three tiered initiatives are tree
planting, community development to reduce poverty and promote
self-sufficiency, and environmental education to protect Armenia’s
precious natural resources. For additional information, visit the
web site
ARMENIA TREE PROJECT 65 Main Street Watertown, MA 02472 USA Tel:
(617) 926-TREE Email: info@armeniatree.org Web:
06110001.html