At the invitation of Minister Hakob Simidyan, Aram Ghazaryan, the Governor of Lori Province hosted Alain Richard Donwahi, the President of the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Armenia, and the delegation headed by the latter. 
Narine Hakobyan, the National Coordinator of the Convention, the Deputy Head of the Department of Lands and Subsoil Policy of the Ministry of Environment, Armen Khojoyan, the Vice Director of the "Environmental Programs Implementation Unit" of the Ministry of Environment, Gor Asryan, the Deputy Governor of Lori Province, Suren Tumanyan, the Head of Tumanyan Municipality, other responsible staff officials of the Ministry and the Governor, were also present at the meeting..
The delegation is in Armenia within the framework of the "World Day against Land Degradation and Drought" to participate in the event entitled "United for the land, our heritage is our future". They visited Lori Province in order to get acquainted with the results of the three-year grant project "Implementation of Armenia's Land Degradation Neutrality Commitments through Sustainable Land Management and Restoration of Degraded Landscapes ".
Governor Aram Ghazaryan thanked for the implementation of an important project in the province and noted that the problem of land degradation and the fight against drought are actual throughout the world, including Lori Province. He noted that the programs implemented by a number of state support programs and funded by international organizations greatly contribute to overcoming these problems and expanding cultivated sown areas, which is also very important from the point of view of food security.
The results of the three-year grant project "Implementation of Armenia's Land Degradation Neutrality Commitments through Sustainable Land Management and Restoration of Degraded Landscapes” were discussed at the meeting.
Within the framework of the latter, in 8 settlements of Tumanyan enlarged Municipality of Lori Province: Karinj, Marts, Lorut, Shamut, Atan, Ahnidzor, Dsegh, Chkalov, on degraded arable land, sown areas of sainfoin, alfalfa, barley and corn were created with intercropping of barley and oats. Within the framework of the project, it is also planned to improve 70 ha of degraded pastures and 100 ha of degraded grasslands and to establish berry gardens on nearly 1.9 ha in the mentioned settlements. Other works will be carried out and training courses will be organized in the mentioned settlements. It is planned to provide the beneficiary settlements with new, effective varieties of vegetable crops, to develop organic agriculture, etc.
The head of the delegation was informed that in total about 500 families are involved in the program, but all residents of the mentioned settlements are beneficiaries of the program, which naturally has a positive effect on raising the standard of living of the residents and development of the communities. Women's participation in the program is about 50 percent.
The parties also discussed the current problems related to the implementation of the programs, as well as the possibilities of expanding the program.