approved by general assembly of - un in armenia tsaghkavan community_eng.pdf · basin and are fed...

Approved by General Assembly ofNerkin Tsaghkavan CommunityOn August 11, 2006

Republic of ArmeniaTavush Marz

NERKIN TSAGHKAVAN COMMUNITY 2006-2008INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Nerkin Tsaghkavan Village – 2006

CONTENTS

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32. General Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43. Vision of Nerkin Tsaghkavan Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74. Social-Economic Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75. Problem Identification and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166. Priority Problem Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187. Statement of Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228. Medium-Term Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229. Project Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2410. Annexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

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1. Introduction

To facilitate sustainable and integrated rural development and to assistlocal government bodies and the population of communities in Armenia, theUnited Nations Development Program (UNDP) has, jointly with the NerkinTsaghkavan Community and in cooperation with the Republic of ArmeniaMinistry of Foreign Affairs, in view of the forthcoming Third Diaspora-Armenia Conference, initiated and elaborated the 2006-2008 IntegratedDevelopment Plan of the Community. This effort has not been confined tofunctions currently performed by the Community. The Development Plan isanchored in a Community Development Vision articulated by its inhabitants,covering the development goals of the community as a whole. The Plan hasbeen developed by means of conducting a comprehensive analysis of theimpact of the external environment on the Community, the social-economicsituation in the Community, and the existing and potential capacity andresources (natural, geographic, economic, social, financial, and human). Itis a guideline for integrated community development, which may serve as abasis for policy-making at all levels of government.

Financial resources and project outputs have been evaluated in order tomake the Plan even more realistic.

The Plan is in conceptual agreement with the UN MillenniumDevelopment Goals and Targets, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Program,the 2006-2008 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework adopted by theArmenian Government, the Integrated Development Plan of Armenia’sBorderline Regions, the Millennium Challenge Program, and the MarzDevelopment Plans.

The objectives and priorities set forth in the Plan are not final and can beadjusted in the course of implementation.

The Planning process and methodology are presented in Annex 1.

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2. General Overview

TTaavvuusshh MMaarrzz. The TavushMarz was formed under theRepublic of Armenia Law onAdministrative-Territorial Divisionadopted on December 4, 1995.

The Tavush Marz includesthe former Ijevan, Tavush(Shamshadin), andNoyemberyan districts, as wellas the health-resort town ofDilijan. There are four urban and58 rural communities in the Marz.To the west and the south, it bor-ders the Lori, Kotayk, andGegharkunik Marzes of Armenia,the Republic of Georgia to thenorth, and the Republic of Azerbaijan to the east. The Tavush Marz has a400-kilometer very difficult section of the state border, of which 352 km arewith Azerbaijan.

The Tavush Marz has a territory of 2,710 square kilometers. The Marzcapital is Ijevan, which was called Karvansara prior to 1919, and became atown only in 1961. The largest river is Aghstev, which flows through the cen-ter of the Marz towards north-east.

The Tavush Marz stretches in the north-east of Armenia—on an externalrow of the Caucasus Minor mountain chains, made up of the GeorgianArmenian, Gugark, and Miapor mountains. The humidity is moderately highhere. Annual irradiation lasts 1,900-2,000 hours. The summers are warm,and the winters—mild. The rivers belong to the Caspian Sea (River Kur)basin and are fed by thaw and underground and rain water. The largest lakeis Parz Lich in the proximity of Dilijan. During 1970-1980, the Jokhaz(Berkaber), Hakhum, Tavush, Aygedzor, and Ijevan reservoirs were built.97,768 out of the 271,000 hectares of Marz surface area are used for agri-culture. 143,000 hectares (51%) are occupied by mixed forests.

The Marz has relatively little in terms of mineral ores. The main industri-al resources are bentonite clay, limestone, construction stone, dolomite, andfelsite. The River Aghstev valley has an abundance of curative water, whichis also bottled. This forest-rich land has diverse flora, fauna, and unique nat-ural monuments. To preserve nature in its original form, to enrich it, and to

Tavush Marz

Tsaghkavan

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breed new local species, the Dilijan State Reserve and the Ijevan ForestPark have been created. During the energy crisis, unsound logging was afrequent occurrence.

Prior to 1990, the Tavush Marz had a developed agriculture, whichaccounted for 9% of the nation’s gross agriculture output. Tavush was thesecond after Ararat in terms of the product per unit of agricultural land. Themost developed industries were tobacco growing, horticulture, and pigbreeding. Tavush produced 33% of the nation’s tobacco and 23% of thenation’s fruit. The former Shamshadin (Berd) and Ijevan administrativeregions were the top two national producers of raw tobacco (2,500-2,700and 1,800-2,000 tons per annum, respectively). Noyemberyan was thenational leader (25-30,000 tons per annum) in terms of fruit production.

During the last decade, the agriculture of the Marz suffered greatly fromnot only the hectic privatization (by fragmenting the land), but also theArmenian-Azeri armedconflict. As a conse-quence of the latter,more than 9,000hectares of arablefields and orchardsnear the border haveremained without culti-vation. During the lasttwo years, targetedprojected have beencarried out to rehabili-tate traditionally-prof-itable tobacco growingand horticulture. Ingeneral, the land andclimate conditions areconducive of growingsubtropical crops.

About 15 years ago, the industry of the Tavush Marz contributed 3% ofthe gross industrial output of the nation, and more than half of this came fromthe food industry. In the Marz, powerful canneries exist in Ayrum andVaragavan. There are wineries in Debedavan, Ijevan, and Aygepar. Thereare raw tobacco preliminary processing workshops in Kayan Station andAygepar, but they are under-loaded.

In the 1930s, the development of industry in this forest-rich region start-ed with timber processing, when the Ijevan Timber Processing Plant and the

In the field

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Dilijan Flexible Furniture Factory were opened. Later, the Ijevan Carpet andBentonite Clay Processing Plants, the Dilijan Knitting Plant, the Berd “Relay”factory, the Dilijan “Impulse” factory, the Ijevan Forest Machine Factory, theDilijan and Ijevan mineral water factories, and numerous affiliates of otherenterprises and national factories were opened, which provided employmentfor the local workforce. However, some of these enterprises are presentlyidle (or operate at negligible volume) due to the absence of inputs and funds,the continuing transportation blockade, and the loss of sale markets.

Recently, the Marz has been the focus of and cooperated effectively withthe Armenian Government and many international organizations.

The British DFID, funded by the Government of Great Britain, has devel-oped a Marz Social-Economic Development Plan, and capital investments (ofabout 1 million British pounds) have been earmarked for its implementation.

In Tavush, the Food Safety and Local Government StrengtheningPrograms of the German Government’s GTZ are operating successfully.

The Health and Infrastructure Rehabilitation local projects implementedby World Vision are worth mentioning.

In the Marz, there are also international projects aimed at the agriculturesector, namely the rehabilitation of irrigation systems.

Background

The Village Nerkin Tsaghkavan (formerly Melik) was founded in the 13thcentury (in the days of the Meliksetyans) and named after the Melik(“prince”) of the River Joghaz of the Ghazakh Province. At that time, the St.Hakob church was built, which, however, no longer stands. During the ruleof tsarist Russia (1818-1820), the Village Melik was a tsarist army garrison.At that time, there were only 30 households in the Village. Since May 1939,the Village was renamed to Tsaghkavan, which changed to NerkinTsaghkavan in 2000.

Nerkin Tsaghkavan is 900 meters above sea level. The distance to theMarz capital is 25 and that to the nation’s capita—70 kilometers. The cli-mate is moderate, with adequate precipitation.

In the north, the Village borders Azerbaijan. As a borderline settlement,Nerkin Tsaghkavan carries the impact of the Armenian-Azeri conflict in termsof external threats, depression of the population, and a destroyed economy.The Village remains of little appeal for serious investments. However, thereis strong cohesion in the Village and a desire to make the Community a richsettlement with developed agriculture, where people will be able to live safe-ly and prosperously.

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3. Vision of Nerkin Tsaghkavan Community

The community vision is a desirable situation in the future towards whichall the members of the community collectively aspire.

4. Social-Economic Overview

4.1 Situation by Sectors

44..11..11DDeemmooggrraapphhyyThe Community comprises 203 households. The actual population (as

of January 1, 2006) is 639, including 312 male and 327 female. There are133 pensioners. 100 vulnerable families have been registered with thesocial agency, which means that more than half of the Community’s popula-tion is poor. 49 households are included in the “Paros” scheme of socialsupport. There are 42 disabled persons and two families of deceased free-dom-fighters. There is a high degree of emigration (164 people). The eth-nic structure of the population is homogeneous: all the villagers areArmenian (see Annex 2).

44..11..22 EEmmppllooyymmeennttThe majority of the Community population is occupied in agriculture.

Here, occupation is seasonal due to the seasonal nature of agriculture. Asmall part of the population earns income from labor migration and non-agri-cultural activities. As for private business, there are five shops in theCommunity, which employ a total of five people. There is no industry; there-fore, no one is employed in the industry sector. The Village Municipality, theschool, the health post, and the library together employ 30 people. 40 peo-

NNeerrkkiinn TTssaagghhkkaavvaann iiss aa rriicchh sseettttlleemmeenntt wwiitthh ddeevveellooppeedd aaggrriiccuullttuurree,,wwhheerree ppeeooppllee aarree aabbllee ttoo lliivvee ssaaffeellyy aanndd pprroossppeerroouussllyy..

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ple are registered as unemployed with the regional employment center. Theable-bodied population is 230 (see Annex 2).

The Community has potential for directly and indirectly creating addition-al jobs, provided that agricultural product and livestock product supply sta-tions and processing workshops are created.

44..11..33AAggrriiccuullttuurreeThe administrative territory of the Community is 605 hectares, of which

485 (75.7%) is agricultural land. Arable land is 272 hectares; grassland is49 hectares; pastures are 87 hectares; and other land is 50 hectares. Theland under Community jurisdiction is 230 hectares. Privately-owned land is

285 hectares, and another 90 hectares are state-owned. The bulk (about92%) of the arable land is third- and fourth-grade. The Community has nofirst-grade land. There are only 22 hectares of second-grade arable land(see Annex 3).

About 26% of the arable land (71 hectares) is used to grow agriculturalcrops. Another 37% has turned into grasslands (during 2005, 2,500 cent-ners of grass was collected from the non-cultivated arable land). In 2005,the Community cultivated grains (38 hectares or about 14% of the arableland), legumes (3 hectares), potato (23 hectares), and truck crops, melons,and gourds (7 hectares) (see Annex 4).

Sufficient humidity of land creates favorable conditions for plants,although good harvests can only be expected in case of irrigation.

For many years, about 30-40% of the Community population grew tobac-

Discussion in the focus group

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co. Presently, the Community does not grow any tobacco. The formertobacco and wheat fields have been converted to idle non-cultivated land or,in the better cases, to fields of non-irrigated crops (such as potato, corn, andthe like). Thus, the agricultural land is not used purposively. This is a con-sequence of the absence of irrigation water, the inaccessibility of qualityseeds and fertilizer, the poor state or absence of agricultural machinery, peri-odic drought, the absence of farm support, and so on. The cultivation sched-ules are not respected; the yields drop; and the cost of production grows.There are also problems related to the sale of agricultural products due tothe absence of supply and processing stations and the difficulties of trans-portation to the Marz center (which is the nearest farm market). It is, there-fore, essential to carry out measures in order to rehabilitate the irrigation net-work, to acquire a variety of agricultural machinery, to improve land fertility,and to gain access to low-interest long-term agricultural credit.

Because of the low profitability of plant cultivation due to the aforemen-tioned reasons, the population prefers to breed livestock, which, too, is notvery profitable. The Community has a total of 250 cattle, 105 pigs, 252sheep, 87 goats, 18 horses, 32 bee colonies, and 6 donkeys (see Annex 5).

Livestock production development is impeded by sales difficulties, unrea-sonable price fluctuations, and the lack of human resources (milkmaids,shepherds, and the like). If these obstacles are overcome, the Communitywill be able to develop livestock breeding, making further use of the possi-bilities of nearby pastures. The construction of a livestock breeding complexand the creation of a milk and dairy processing workshop are consideredpotentially successful projects.

The Community has favorable conditions for the development of beekeeping, which is already growing abruptly: during just one year, the numberof bee colonies has almost quadrupled.

44..11..44.. NNoonn-AAggrriiccuullttuurraall AAccttiivviittiieessIn the Community, non-agricultural activities are underdeveloped. There

are five small shops that employ a total of five people.There is no industrial activity whatsoever.

44..11..55.. PPoottaabbllee WWaatteerr aanndd IIrrrriiggaattiioonnPotable water is supplied from natural sources by gravity for an average

of six hours per day. The total length of the potable water network is 12.5kilometers, of which the main is 9 kilometers. The network and the mainhave not been repaired for a long time, which has resulted in changes in thequality of potable water and losses. It is necessary to perform capital repairsof the mains and to construct two new captations, as well as a three-kilome-

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ter new main connecting them. It will ensure 10-hour water supply to 80%of the households. Presently, 150 households (about 74% of total) haveindividual taps of potable water. The residents do not pay for water.Generally, potable water is not an acute problem in the Community.

The total length of the irrigation network within the Community is 25 kilo-meters. Irrigation water is a very acute problem for the Community. Theland plots, with the exception of home-adjacent ones, are not irrigated at all.In the past, water was pumped from the Berkaber Reservoir. Presently, thepump station does not operate: pumped water is not cost-effective and isrisky (being in the fire zone of Azerbaijan). It is especially important to lookfor new (gravity-flow) solutions.

The relevant Marz agencies and IFAD have developed a new technicalproposal on water supply for these areas, the implementation of which, sub-ject to the availability of funds, would provide irrigation water to NerkinTsaghkavan, Kirantz, Sevkar, and Sarigyugh (see Figure 1).

44..11..66.. EEdduuccaattiioonn,, HHeeaalltthh,, CCuullttuurree,, SSppoorrttss,, aanndd RReelliiggiioonnAccess to high-quality education is considered essential by the

Community residents.There is a public secondary school in the Community, which has 87

pupils. The school building is in adequate state: it was renovated in 2005with state budget funding (AMD 40 million). Under the 2006 state budget,the school will receive AMD 11 million for the construction of a local boiler.The assets are rather old and need to be refreshed. The procurement ofathletic supplies is particularly important in order to make sport life in the

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Community active. The school employs 25 people.Pre-school education services are not rendered in the Community. As of

January 1, 2006, there were 58 pre-school-age children. The number ofnewborns has been increasing. If the planned agriculture sector reforms arecarried out, it will be important to have a pre-school facility in order to not hin-der the occupation of parents. However, there is no appropriate building: theold kindergarten was made up of two small wooden buildings (huts), whichhave been converted to residential houses and can no longer serve as akindergarten. Even if a new kindergarten is built (to be attended by about25 children), the Community, with its presently scarce budget, will be unableto finance the delivery of appropriate services.

The building and furniture of the village library are in an inadequate state.The book stock has not been updated for a long time and is worn-out.

There are no extra-school education, culture, or sport services in theCommunity. There are no activity circles. There isn’t a single computer inthe Village. The youth have no occupation. Building a culture center will notonly solve the problem of cultural services, but also create technical condi-tions for pre-school and extra-school education, as well as pastime opportu-nities for the youth and the elderly.

The Village does not have a church. The Kirantz and MakaravankMonasteries are far from the Village. Not all the members of the Communitycan afford to practice religion in a church, which creates preconditions for theproliferation of sects.

19 members of the Community have university degrees, 86—secondaryvocational education, 155—high school education, and 114 have completedeight years of secondary schooling (see Annex 6).

The basic health needs of the Community are met by a health post,which is an affiliate of the Sevkar Health Center. The building and furnitureof this community-owned health post are in adequate state, after renovationby the German GTZ in the frameworks of a project called “Assistance toCommunities.” World Vision is currently implementing a health program inthe Community: the program includes scheduled visits of doctors to theCommunity. The Community health post does not have medication, and thenurse needs training.

44..11..77.. UUttiilliittiieessNatural gas is not supplied to the Community. A three-kilometer gas main

entering into the Village passes under the ground and cannot be used. Thepopulation uses wood from the nearby forest as fuel. However, forests arenow tightly controlled, and illegal logging is precluded. On the other hand,not everyone is able to obtain fuel legitimately. Natural gas supply will miti-

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gate the problem to some extent. Gas supply may be impeded by fee col-lection difficulties due to the insolvency of the population.

Garbage removal is not organized in the Community.There is no central sewerage. Its function is performed by the drainage

lines.The total housing stock of the Community is 25,500 square meters.

There are 250 residential houses, of which 18 are unsafe. Nine havebecome unsafe due to landslides, and one has collapsed. One four-mem-ber family has moved to a neighboring village; another family (with sevenmembers) is currently living in the former Utilities Building; and two familiesare living in the wooden huts of the former kindergarten. The landslides reg-ularly damage the roads within the Village. The residents of the unsafehouses are deprived of basic utilities and living conditions.

Street lighting is in desperate condition. Some of the street lighting polesstill stand, although no wires are left. In the evening, the Village is “buried”in darkness. Street lighting is important to overcome the depressed state ofthe population; however, budget scarcity would obstruct recurrent mainte-nance of a street lighting network.

There are no leisure areas in the territory of the Community.There is an area of the Village affected by landslides, but there is no

threat of rain flooding.

44..11..88TTrraannssppoorrtt aanndd CCoommmmuunniiccaattiioonnssThe Community is 1.5 kilometers away from the closest national high-

way. The national and Marz roads are asphalt-paved and in good condition.The roads are in good condition (in view of the speed limit).

The Community has three kilometers of earth roads, which need capitalrenovation. In the winter, the roads are not fully passable. When it rains,movement within the Community, especially going to school, becomes verydifficult.

A once-daily Nerkin Tsaghkavan-Ijevan bus operates; the fare is 250drams one way. The frequency of the Nerkin Tsaghkavan-Ijevan bus trans-portation needs to be increased.

The Community has 14 passenger cars and six trucks.The Community internal automated-switch telephony does not operate.

The station needs repairs, and the network is missing altogether. There isone (Marz) telephone number in the Community (belonging to the Ijevan sta-tion). Viva-Cell mobile telephony is accessible. A post office operates reg-ularly. The number of television stations is limited (the population receivesH1, H2, and RTR). There is no Internet.

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44..11..99 LLooccaall SSeellff-GGoovveerrnnmmeenntt BBooddiieessSince August 5, 2001, the Community Head has been Nairi Atabekyan

(43 years old, a university graduate).Here are the names of the Community Council members:1. Samvel Babutyan2. Gagik Gasparyan3. Roman Zavradyan4. Radik Mkhitaryan5. Mher Revazyan.

The Mayor has created a three-position staff with the following structure:The Village Municipality building needs to be improved. The furniture is

very old and worn-out; there are no computers.There is cohesion in the Community, which, however, has not resulted in

the formation of social institutions. There are no formal associations in theCommunity.

44..11..1100.. CCoommmmuunniittyy AAsssseettss aanndd BBuuddggeettThe Community owns the Village Municipality building, the culture cen-

ter, the two wooden huts of the former kindergarten, two reservoirs (with acapacity of 220 tons), the water cleaning station, the internal irrigation net-work connected to the Berkaber pump station, and three kilometers of roadswithin the Village, which are in extremely poor state.

The Community budget is mainly filled by land tax and central govern-ment subsidies. Property tax is levied only on vehicles. The Community hasa significant number of land plots for which there is no demand. If agricul-ture develops and farm support becomes available, demand for land willincrease, and land lease proceeds can become a significant source of com-munity budget revenue.

Community budget revenue and expenditure execution is poor. The2004 budget revenues were executed by 80.7% and the expenditures by80.5%. The execution rates were 83.8% and 83.3%, respectively, in 2005.The execution of “own revenue” and, in particular, items such as land andproperty tax, is especially low.

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Revenue execution has been poor in 2006, as well (35.7% for the first sixmonths of 2006). Own revenue execution is 36.1% for the first six monthsof 2006 (land tax execution is 29.5% and property tax execution is 65.4%).

Expenditure execution has been 34.9% during the first half of 2006 (seeTable 1).

More detailed information on the Community’s revenues and expendi-tures is presented in Annexes 8 and 9.

44..11..1111.. PPrroojjeeccttss IImmpplleemmeenntteedd iinn tthhee CCoommmmuunniittyyThe following projects have been implemented in the Community in

recent years:

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4.2. Analysis of Internal and External Factors

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5. Problem Identification and Analysis

During the first Community General Assembly, the problems faced by theCommunity were identified. These problems were later elaborated and ana-lyzed in a focus group. The problems were analyzed on the basis of mate-rials received in the frameworks of the “My Vision for the Development ofNerkin Tsaghkavan” essay contest. The findings are summarized below:

1. Need to provide housing to the residents of unsafe houses or to reno-vate such houses

2. Need to renovate roads within the Community and to improve thedrainage system

3. Need to renovate the potable water main, to increase the number ofsources supplying water to the Community, and to improve the potablewater network within the Community

4. Absence of gas supply5. Absence of a culture center6. Absence of sport services7. Absence of pre-school education services8. Absence of irrigation on non-home-adjacent land plots of the

Community9. Absence of street lighting10.Difficulties of selling livestock products11. Inadequate state of athletic and school assets12.Absence of agricultural machinery13.Low productivity of privatized land14.Extremely inadequate state of Village Municipality building and assets15.Difficulties of selling agricultural products16.Absence of computers and Internet17.Absence of an internal telephone network18.Need to increase the frequency of transportation between the

Community and the Marz capital19. Inaccessibility of soft loans20.Absence of household service facilities21.Need to create a livestock breeding complex

The identified problems were evaluated and classified by acuteness andtrends (see Annex 1), and were classified by the level of priority (see Table 2)

The half of the problems, which scored the maximum possible number ofpoints, were considered priorities. Here they are:

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Absence of agricultural machinery Low productivity of privatized land Absence of irrigation on non-home-adjacent land plots of the

Community Need to provide housing to the residents of unsafe houses or to

renovate such houses Difficulties of selling agricultural products Absence of computers and Internet Need to renovate roads within the Community and to improve the

drainage system Absence of a culture center Inaccessibility of soft loans Need to renovate the potable water main, to increase the number

of sources supplying water to the Community, and to improve thepotable water network within the Community

Difficulties of selling livestock products

6. Priority Problem Analysis

Once the priorities were identified, problem casual links were exploredand solutions proposed.

Problem Causality Analysis and Mapping of Responsibilities

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7. Statement of Outputs

Based on the analysis of priority problems, the following outputs havebeen stated:

Overcome the difficulties related to agricultural processing(inability to pay for leased agricultural machinery, unreasonabledelays, and so on) by means of creating a pool of multi-purposeagricultural machinery

Increase the productivity of privatized land plots Create opportunities for increasing the volume of agricultural

plant processing by means of addressing the problem of non-irri-gated land

Provide dignified housing conditions for the residents of currentlyunsafe houses

Create conditions to overcome agricultural product sale difficul-ties

Give the Community access to modern sources of information Have well-made roads within the Community, with a drainage

system Have a culture center Create conditions for overcoming the difficulties related to the

sale of livestock products Improve access to potable water Help the farmers with large-scale agricultural activity by means of

making long-term low-interest credit accessible for them

8. Medium-Term Projects

Projects were defined on the basis of solutions derived from the problemcausality analysis. From the alternative solutions, the ones that correspond-ed to pre-defined criteria (degree of solution of the problem, required finan-cial resources, and feasibility of operation and maintenance) were selected.Thus, the following projects have been selected:

1. Acquire agricultural machinery in accordance with the List (seeAnnex 7)

2. Carry out measures to improve the productivity of 200 hectares ofprivatized land

3. Create a dairy processing workshop or establish a milk supply sta-tion (for 2 tons per day)

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4. Build new cottages for residents of unsafe houses (a total of 18 fam-ilies) or reinforce the unsafe houses

5. Create a fruit processing (drying and canning) workshop or supplystation (for 1.5 tons per day)

6. Establish a computer center with Internet connectivity7. Rehabilitate 3-kilometer intra-community roads and install a

drainage system8. Build a 200-seat culture center9. Make long-term low-interest credit available (without requiring any

security)10. Rehabilitate [8-kilometer] potable water main and increase the num-

ber of sources (by building two new captations and a 3-kilometer main), andrehabilitate the network within the Community (2.5 kilometers)

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11. Build a gravity-flow irrigation water main (13 km) from the unsettledareas of the River Kirantz, which will also supply irrigation water toSarigyugh, Kirantz, and Sevkar villages (a total of four communities)

The choice of these solutions does not mean that the other solutions willbe overlooked. Any change of circumstances may bring other solutions tothe forefront and trigger new solutions.

The assessment of projects and the classification of priorities were doneusing the “pair-wise” method (see Annex 1).

Priority Setting Matrix Using Pair-Wise MethodAccording to the pair-wise method, projects scored the following number

of points:

9. Project Development

Project Discussions. For the purpose of addressing project implementa-tion issues, monitoring and evaluating them, and identifying potentialsources of funding for projects, each project was discussed in a joint work-shop of the working and focus groups, to which relevant experts had been

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invited, as well.Projects were discussed and examined with experts at Marz and nation-

al levels for purposes of compatibility with policies.As a result of the discussions, medium-term projects were identified.

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10. Annexes

Annex 1. Methodology

11.. PPllaannnniinngg SStteeppss aanndd PPrriinncciipplleessThe Nerkin Tsaghkavan Community Development Plan (CDP) was

developed during July and August, 2006 by a group comprising communityresidents and UNDP experts. Public participation in the CDP elaborationprocess has been achieved by means of discussions with the VillageMunicipality staff and the Community Council, as well as discussions in gen-eral community assemblies (to address general matters pertaining to theCDP) and an initiative group (CDP elaboration process).

The Development Plan has been elaborated through the following steps:

1. Preparatory activities;2. Community vision statement;3. Social-economic overview;4. Problem identification and analysis;5. Statement of outputs;6. Medium-term objectives and underlying priorities; and7. Project development.

11..11.. HHeerree aarree tthhee mmaaiinn pprriinncciipplleess uunnddeerrllyyiinngg tthhee ddeevveellooppmmeenntt ooff tthhee CCoommmmuunniittyy DDeevveellooppmmeenntt PPllaann:: Participatory: the Community residents, through a group of repre-

sentatives formed on voluntary grounds by the GeneralAssembly of the Community, participated in the process. Thisformat helped achieve process transparency and accountability.In addition to the Community residents, stakeholders from out-side of the Community participated, as well (including the MarzGovernor’s Office, the Government, international organizations,donors, non-governmental organizations, private sector repre-sentatives, and the like).

Compatible: National, regional, and neighboring communities’interests have been factored in.

Complementary: The capacity existing in neighboring communi-ties has been taken into account.

Consensus-Based: Differences in opinion have been respectedand decisions taken on the basis of compromise.

Feedback: With a certain sequence order, the activities have

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been reflective. Flexible: Any change of the situation can be added in. Sustainable: The general arrangements by which the Plan was

developed and adopted (i.e. its participatory nature and theapproval by the Community Council and the Community GeneralAssembly) ensure the sustainability of the Plan.

22.. PPrreeppaarraattoorryy AAccttiivviittiieessThe Community Development Plan has been elaborated by means of

official talks at two levels (regional and local). To improve consistency andavoid redundancies, introductory meetings were held and understandingsreached with regional officials and the community leadership. The UNDPCommunity Development Plan objective was presented and specificarrangements on joint work were made.

Participation in the CDP process was achieved by means of communitygeneral assemblies and discussions in a working group.

CCoommmmuunniittyy GGeenneerraall AAsssseemmbbllyyPPuurrppoossee:: Two general assemblies were convened during the CDP

process, the first of which was intended to raise awareness, to mobilize, andto build an initiative group, while the second was held to discuss andapprove the draft CDP.

MMeetthhoodd ooff CCoonnvveenniinngg:: the Community general assemblies were con-vened by means of announcements published by the Village Municipality.The announcements were posted in visible sites within the Community.

The working group was made up of the Village Mayor, the VillageMunicipality Staff, the Community Council members, and the initiative group.

IInniittiiaattiivvee GGrroouuppPurpose: To identify, analyze, and proposal solutions to the problems of

certain groups, including socially-vulnerable groups of the population.Principles of Formation: The desire of participants to be involved, the

approval of the majority of the general assembly, and the diversity of thegroup (in ethnic, professional, and age-gender terms) were taken into con-sideration.

Method of Formation: The initiative group was formed in the first GeneralAssembly of the Community by means of voluntary nomination and self-nomination. It was made up of representatives of various social segmentsof the population.

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For a list of the working group members, see Annex 10.

33.. CCoommmmuunniittyy VViissiioonn SSttaatteemmeennttThe community vision is a desirable situation in the future towards which

all the members of the community collectively aspire. The communityvision—as a “light” spotted in the distance—guides the development of thecommunity, and each community institution, with its functions in the contextof its authority and mission, incrementally makes it closer.

The community vision setting process was carried out by means of acommunity-wide contest and a presentation in the working group.

CCoonntteesstA community-wide contest for essays on the topic “My Vision for the

Development of Nerkin Tsaghkavan” was organized and conducted.Instructions on how to take part in the contest were developed and dissem-inated within the community (as well as posted on the Municipality wall),which stated the main assignment (i.e. to present their vision for the commu-nity, values, issues, their causes, consequences, and solutions) and theterms of participation. The papers were evaluated by community develop-ment experts. The authors of the best papers received prizes.

WWoorrkkiinngg GGrroouuppParallel to the evaluation of essays, statements of the Community vision

were extracted and combined with the one proposed in the working group.As a result of this exercise, a common community vision was articulated.

44.. SSoocciiaall-EEccoonnoommiicc OOvveerrvviieewwThe social-economic situation in the Community was analyzed by meth-

ods such as data surveys and working group discussions.

Surveys and analysis of available information

Information on the Community was collected from different organizations(the Village Municipality, the Marz Governor’s Office, the Government, inter-national organizations, non-governmental organizations, and the like). TheTavush Marz Development Plan, as well as the last several years’ commu-nity budgets, its triennial development plan, and other community-relatedplans were studied.

Working group discussions

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The Community’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats(SWOT) were identified in the working group. This analysis then served asa basis for identifying the issues faced by the Community and proposingsolutions.

55.. PPrroobblleemmss IInnddeennttiiffiiccaattiioonn aanndd AAnnaallyyssiissTThhee pprroobblleemmss wweerree aannaallyyzzeedd iinn tthhee ffoolllloowwiinngg ssttaaggeess::

I. Problem identification and mapping;II. Problem assessment; andIII. Analysis of urgent problems using a causality scheme.

I. Problem Identification and Mapping: the focus groups identified all theproblems that the participants deemed related to community development.The identified problems were then grouped according to the competentauthorities.

II. Problem Assessment: the focus groups determined the most seriousproblems that need to be solved in order to start a process of fundamentalcommunity development. The problems assessment was performed usinga so-called “Problem Acuteness and Trend” method.

The “Problem Acuteness and Trend” Method. Each participant receivedsheets containing a list of all the problems (one problem per sheet). Theparticipants were then asked to assess the problems as “Very Acute”,“Acute”, and “Less acute” by jointly choosing assessment criteria inadvance, including:

The number of people affected by the problem; The impact of consequences; and The incidence of the problem.

Each participant was asked to mark his/her grade to each problem on theopposite side of the problem sheet. Then, the participants were asked tosort the problems by the trends observed during the last two-years(“Worsens,” “Remains unchanged,” or “Improves”), after which all the partic-ipants’ sheets were analyzed using the ratios specified in Table 1.

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66.. MMeeddiiuumm-TTeerrmm OObbjjeeccttiivveess aanndd UUnnddeerrllyyiinngg PPrriioorriittiieessPriority-Setting. The assessment of projects and the classification of pri-

orities were done using the “pair-wise” method, for which medium-term fea-sibility (access to financial, human, material, and other resources) was takenas a benchmark.

The Pair-Wise Method. The examined problems were filled out in verti-cal and horizontal lines of a matrix (see Table 2), after which each problemstated in a vertical line was compared with all the problems mentioned in thehorizontal lines. The top priority identified as a result of this comparison waswritten in the box where the lines cross. After all the boxes were filled in thisway, the incidence of each problem was calculated, and the problems wereclassified in the order of incidence. According to this classification, prioritieswere set.

The advantage of this method (see Table 2) is that projects are separate-ly compared to one another, which, as opposed to the previous method,allows group analysis and discussion of each project.

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