GEGHARKUNIK, Armenia — On July 24, the American University of Armenia (AUA) Acopian Center for the Environment, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body of the Republic of Armenia (EPMIB), organized a local event in the Gegharkunik region intended for boosting awareness of PONTOS project outcomes, addressing “How information from Space may assist in making a decision on Earth.”
The workshop participants included 55 representatives from local government and administrative agencies, local non-governmental organizations, as well as researchers studying the Lake Sevan Basin. The event was also designed to foster connections between the project research team and community representatives for engagement in the forthcoming launch of the PONTOS platform.
Researchers from the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment and EPMIB delivered presentations on topics related to Earth Observation (EO) systems, data sources, uses, and roles in environmental monitoring; research conducted on Lake Sevan and its basin using satellite images; the PONTOS platform and its toolkit; and the role of the PONTOS project outcomes and satellite data in decision making. A question and answer session followed, during which participants had the opportunity to share information on the challenges and potential collaboration opportunities with the PONTOS team.
“The activities conducted within the PONTOS project and continuous improvement are very important. Achieving the intended results of the program will provide a great opportunity to not only progress toward improving the current state of the environment and realize activities for the improvement of the environment, but also to achieve progress across various sectors of the economy. I consider it necessary for employees of the beneficiary organizations, with the relevant support of specialists implementing the program, to organize practical training courses, building the capacity of beneficiaries to actually use the already available data for decision making,” remarked Siras Ohanyan, head of the Environmental department of the Gegharkunik region.
The event was one of four local events planned for briefing stakeholders on PONTOS outcomes. These events are deemed essential for the project teams to design and accordingly plan ensuing activities and determine the respective training focus and content.
More information about the PONTOS project is available on its website at https://pontos-eu.aua.am/.
The AUA American University of Armenia (AUA), the Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body of the Republic of Armenia, and four other partner organizations, together launched the Copernicus Assisted Environmental Monitoring Across the Black Sea Basin-PONTOS project starting from July 1, 2020. The 30-month program is implemented under the ENP Black Sea Cross-Border Cooperation 2014-2020 program’s co-financing.
This publication has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the PONTOS program and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.
