Armenia Tree Project Writes a New Chapter for Forest Governance in Armenia

In the highland village of Fioletovo, a quiet shift in how Armenia protects its forests is taking root. Residents, local officials, and ATP foresters have signed a new community stewardship agreement for the Hrant Dink Memorial Forest — putting day-to-day protection and monitoring directly in the hands of the people who live closest to the land.

The model reverses the usual top-down approach to forest governance. Instead of protection being managed remotely, a locally elected forest committee now oversees patrols, reports illegal logging, and coordinates with ATP on replanting degraded sections. Early results are promising: incidents of unauthorized cutting have already dropped since the committee began its rounds this autumn.

"When a forest belongs to no one on paper, it belongs to everyone in practice — and that means it belongs to no one," said one of ATP's regional foresters. "Fioletovo is proving that when a community has real authority over a forest, it protects it like family land."

ATP plans to document Fioletovo's model closely over the next planting season, with an eye toward replicating it in other communities bordering vulnerable woodland across the Lori region.