“Armenia is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change,” said Allison M. Chatrchyan, senior research associate in the Department of Global Development. “Temperatures there are rising more than the global average, drought is becoming more widespread and freeze risk is intensifying. Climate change is hitting farmers hard, and it’s affecting rural societies in untold ways.”
Armenian farmers face enormous challenges adapting to changing conditions and are at high risk of losing their livelihoods, said Keelin Kelly ’20, who is conducting her undergraduate social science honors thesis research in Armenia with Chatrchyan.
“We talked to farmers who told us that if water scarcity continued to grow, they would no longer be able to farm,” Kelly said. “Farmer involvement and knowledge in climate change decision-making is crucial to ensuring economic livelihoods not just in Armenia, but in communities and countries around the world.”