YEREVAN — Armenia Tree Project (ATP) and the American University of Armenia (AUA) Acopian Center for the Environment, organizers of an upcoming global forestry conference in Yerevan, Armenia, announced this week the event’s keynote lecturer, Dr. Anthony S. Davis, interim dean and professor at the College of Forestry at Oregon State University. The three-day conference will bring leading minds in forestry to Armenia’s capital for discussion, education, and networking.
Davis will deliver the keynote address at the inaugural Forest Summit: Global Action and Armenia on Tuesday, October 22, and will press participants to consider the opportunities that exist in Armenia and around the world to use science-based practices in advancing forest restoration, conservation, and management for multiple values. His background in working at the local level to develop best practices in seedling production, tree planting, and long-term management builds on a global suite of experiences that can inform management and policy decisions in Armenia’s forest sector.
“It’s with great enthusiasm that I prepare to share my learnings and experience with the attendees of the inaugural Forest Summit,” says Davis, who has been working on forest restoration and tree planting with several organizations in Armenia including ATP. “It’s an honor to be able to share my passion with so many like-minded professionals, and to do it in a country that has made a commitment to double its forest cover by 2050. This conference comes at a critical time for forest health worldwide. More than ever we are cognizant of the wide-ranging values forests provide – as a sink for carbon, a source of renewable materials, and habitat for critical wildlife including the Caucasian Leopard. I look forward to participating in this dialogue.”
Davis serves as the chief executive of the College of Forestry at Oregon State University, which is broadly recognized as one of the world’s leading forestry research, teaching, and extension institutions. Under his leadership, the Corvallis, Oregon-based College of Forestry crafts research projects with various constituencies around the globe to expand forest-driven economies, steward forest resources, and to translate new discoveries into tools and techniques that can be used to advance livelihoods and sustain ecosystems.
With three days of discussion and collaborative dialogue on the conservation and reforestation efforts much needed in Armenia and countries across the world, Forest Summit: Global Action and Armenia will offer field visits to Dilijan National Park and ATP’s reforestation nursery and forest plantings in Margahovit Village, as well as social and networking opportunities.
In addition to hosting the conference in October, Armenia Tree Project will celebrate the planting of its six millionth tree in Armenia this fall. For more information about the conference, AUA Acopian Center for the Environment, or Armenia Tree Project, please visit http://forestsummit.am.
