Co-operation in Northern Armenia and Southern Georgia

Fires pose a major risk to the landscape of the South Caucasus region. Uncontrolled and undesired fires pose environmental, economic, social, and health risks, and therefore undermine human and livelihood security. These risks will likely increase with climate change as temperatures become warmer, precipitation levels change, and heatwaves and droughts become more frequent and intense – conditions that are conducive to the occurrence and spread of fires.

Given that these risks are likely shared by communities across multiple jurisdictions in border regions, co-operation is crucial for addressing these risks in a holistic and sustainable manner.

This scoping study aims to assess the current context of landscape fire management, wildfire disaster risk reduction (DRR), and transboundary co-operation in two pilot municipalities in Georgia and Armenia. Based on this assessment, it collects and develops ideas for co-operation activities between the pilot municipalities, and identifies what is required to ensure their success. These activities, in turn, will contribute to the overall objective of promoting climate resilience and reducing climate-related security risks through joint landscape fire management and wildfire risk reduction in Northern Armenia and Southern Georgia.

This study builds on the findings of the OSCE-adelphi report “Regional Consultation for the South Caucasus” for Armenia and Georgia, which identified DRR as one of the top priorities for transboundary co-operation to address climate-related security risks in the region. This scoping study was prepared within the framework of the OSCE extra-budgetary project Strengthening responses to security risks from climate change in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia, which is implemented by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) in partnership with adelphi and funded by Andorra, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. The project is part of the OSCE’s active effort to support its participating States in implementing the 2021 OSCE Ministerial Council Decision on climate change.