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The Republic of Armenia is an entirely mountainous country lying within the Caucasus range. Roughly 76.5% of the country lies 1,000-2,500 m above sea-level, and mountain ranges occupy about 47% of the country's land surface, with a third of the territory occupied by the highlands. Thus nearly 40% of Armenians dwell at an altitude of 1,500-2,000 m above sea-level, with 14% even higher, at 2,000-2,500 m above sea-level.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union Armenia has faced economic problems and a severe energy crisis which led to a considerable encroachment into the mountain forests. In the 1980s the country was affected by a terrible earthquake, and was involved in serious ethnic conflicts with Azerbaijan. In 2000 a severe drought created further problems in the agricultural and forestry sectors. The mountain areas of the country face numerous challenges, including problems of poor access, unemployment, poverty and food insecurity, unsustainable agricultural production, inefficient use of land resources, shrinking of forest areas, limited access to water and damage caused by military actions and natural disasters. The country also lacks both technical expertise to address these issues, and funds to implement new strategies of recovery.
In 1999 the Government of Armenia adopted a decree on the Sustainable Development of Mountain Areas that highlighted the above issues as a national priority. A national programme was formulated in the same year to establish a comprehensive approach to the economic, social, environmental and cultural recovery and further development of the mountain areas.
There are various projects related to mountain development planned or already underway in Armenia, involving partners such as UNDP, the World Bank and FAO.
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