Biodiversity Management Projects

Jermuk National Park as a Part of Lydian Armenia’s Biodiversity Offset Commitment

The establishment of Jermuk National Park is stipulated by the RA Government’s Strategy for development of protected areas in the RA, dated 2014. In 2016, Lydian Armenia signed a  Memorandum of Understanding with the RA Nature Protection Ministry and committed to finance the JNP project as a part of its (Lydian Armenia’s) commitments to offset the biodiversity impacts. The term of the Project is 5 years, and the total cost is USD 5,7 mln. Aside from the biodiversity offset, Jermuk National Park will create jobs and will trigger ecotourism and eco-education in the region. The project was suspended in 2018 because of the blockades of the Amulsar-leading roads. The Company plans to restart the project after resuming its operations.

Potentila Porphyrantha

Potentila Porphyrantha plant was discovered at Amulsar as a result of additional research conducted in 2012. Irrespective of its being listed in the Armenian Red book, the Amulsar was not specified as a habitat of this plant species. In 2015, Lydian Armenia was granted the plant relocation permit based on the RA Government’s Resolution No 781-N of 2014 to manage the possible impacts faced by the local population growing at the open-pit area.

Under the Potentila Porphyrantha Project, 21% of the plant’s local population, growing at the area of the Amulsar planned open-pits, was translocated to the Sevan botanical garden and the other side of the Amulsar area, with the remaining part of the population still growing at the Amulsar area. The purpose of the project is to maintain and develop the plant species and after the mine closure to restore the population to the pre-operational level at the Amulsar area. This Project is being implemented by Lydian Armenia in cooperation with the experts of RA NAS Institute of Botany and Cambridge University Botanical Garden. Two post-graduate students are engaged in this Project, the total cost of which is USD 500,000.