- Title
- Climate risk management in Amenia
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- Abstract
- "Armenia is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with a population of 3.2 million. Armenia’s GDP as of 2011 is in excess of US$ 11 billion. Its economy is based on agriculture (22 percent), services (39 percent) and industry, including construction (39 percent). As of 2010, 35 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and in rural areas the incidence of poverty is between 40 and 50 percent.
The agriculture sector in Armenia is predominantly composed of 340,000 small, mainly subsistent farms. The average land holding is about 1.4 hectares. Of the total 240,000 hectares of arable land, around 64 percent is under some form of irrigation. The irrigation system suffers from poor maintenance, conveyance losses and high pumping costs. Climate-driven shocks, including drought, hail storms, flash floods, floods, landslides and frost, seriously impact the agriculture sector with varying intensity. Between 2000 and 2010, Armenia experienced seven droughts. Major droughts in 2000, 2006 and 2010 combined with other hazardous events such as hail storms, early frosts and spring floods. These events caused a reduction in grain production by 50 percent, potato production by 35 percent and vegetable production by 65 percent. In turn, this led to a ten percent reduction in rural employment opportunities.
As almost 98 percent of agricultural activities, including the entire agro-processing sector, are undertaken by private sector entities through small-scale cultivation activities. The Government’s role is limited to providing concessional loans and to distributing seeds. The climate risk is thus carried by small farmers.
The 2009 economic crisis in combination with the 2010 drought highlighted the vulnerability of farmers to climate-based shocks. These events also contributed to the observed increase in poverty, from 28 percent to 35 percent, between 2008 and 2010.
In response, the Government of Armenia developed a Strategy for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development 2010-2020. Analysis of this strategy reveals that no institutional mechanisms have been established, nor financial resources allocated, to integrate climate risk management instruments despite the existence of compelling evidence.
CRM-TASP analysis reveals that between 1998 and 2010 climate events caused a loss of US$ 2.8 billion with an annual average loss of around US$ 450 million. CRM-TASP analysis also reveals that there are options available to reduce climate risks substantially. The climate risk reduction options are not being implemented in Armenia due to lack of policy leadership, institutional mechanisms and other related capacities.
CRM-TASP recommends a proper evaluation of climate risks in order to direct climate risk mitigation policy and thus provide the economic rationale for adequate public investment. This will, in turn, significantly reduce climate risk related losses and enable the achievement of the development goals, such as a reduction in poverty, envisioned in the Strategy for Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development 2010 to 2020."
- Publication Date
- Dec. 1, 2013, 6 p.m.
- Category
- Climatology Meteorology Atmosphere
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processes and phenomena of the atmosphere. Examples: cloud cover, weather, climate, atmospheric conditions, climate change, precipitation
- Regions
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Armenia
- Responsible
- andy
- More info
- -
- Language
- English
- Supplemental Information
- coastal_flood, strong_wind, drought, urban_flood, extreme_heat, wildfire, landslide
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