During the first day of the official visit to Armenia, Ivana Zivkovic, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, Deputy Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS countries, accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Environment Aram Meimaryan and UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia Natia Natsvlishvili visited UNDP programs held in Gegharkunik and Tavush regions.
In the city of Sevan, she got acquainted with the work of the automatic meteorological station, which was modernized with the funding of the Japanese government, within the framework of the UNDP "Climate Risk Resilience in Armenia" project.
In total, in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, 11 stations were modernized in Gegharkunik, Tavush and Syunik regions. This modernization is aimed at increasing the accuracy of monitoring and observing weather conditions and ensuring up to 80 percent coverage of the entire territory of the country, enabling the Armenian population to be provided with more reliable hydrometeorological information.
The Director of the Regional Bureau of UNDP Europe and CIS countries in the Norashen State Reserve, which is the nesting place of the endemic Armenian gulls, got acquainted with the rich biodiversity of the Sevan National Park and the management plan, which is a fundamental tool for the effective conservation and management of the natural resources and biodiversity of Lake Sevan.
In the city of Dilijan, Mrs. Zivkovic visited energy-efficient buildings that were renovated and equipped with the financing of the Green Climate Fund. So far, 152 residential and 52 public buildings, including 45 kindergartens and schools, have been renovated for increasing energy efficiency throughout Armenia, reducing energy consumption by 40 to 60 percent and positively affecting the well-being of more than 46,000 residents, more than 50 percent of which are women and girls.