Armenia has developed and put into circulation a draft decree on "National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan of the Republic of Armenia (2025-2030)."
The strategy's targets are derived from the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which was adopted in 2022 at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Among the most critical is Target 3, which stipulates that at least 30% of the Earth’s terrestrial and inland water ecosystems must be effectively protected by 2030. Consequently, each country must also ensure the protection of 30% of its own territory.
According to the draft "National Biodiversity Action Plan of the Republic of Armenia 2025-2030," the following measures are planned to achieve this target:
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Expand the network of Specially Protected Nature Areas (SPNAs) to cover at least 16.6% of Armenia's territory.
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Revise the Republic of Armenia Law "On Specially Protected Nature Areas," ensuring the establishment and effective management of community-based and private protected areas, other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), micro-reserves, and ecological networks.
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Ensure the protection of at least 13.3% of Armenia's territory through Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs).
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Establish at least one biosphere reserve and nominate it for approval under UNESCO’s "Man and the Biosphere" (MAB) programme.
"EcoLur" Informational NGO sent an inquiry to the Ministry of Environment to clarify how Armenia intends to reach this target. In response, a letter (Ref. № 2/16.10/12191) from the Deputy Minister of Environment, Aram Meimaryan, stated:
"1. The current version of the Emerald Network does not yet have an officially confirmed status; the sites are currently presented as candidate sites. The final total area depends on the revision of their boundaries and official confirmation by the Secretariat of the Bern Convention. Therefore, at this stage, it is not possible to provide the territorial share of the Emerald Network as a percentage.
2. Regarding your second and third questions, I inform you that the Ministry of Environment has not submitted an official proposal to the Secretariat of the Bern Convention regarding the reduction of Emerald candidate sites. In 2023, within the framework of the 'EU4Environment' regional program, scientific work was conducted to review the Emerald Network. As a result, it was proposed to revise the boundaries of the candidate sites submitted in the 2016 package, based on scientific analyses of the representation of target species and their habitats. During the review, 30 candidate sites were identified with a total area of 707,700 hectares, whereas the 2016 package included 23 sites covering an area of 1,033,719.5 hectares.
3. The review report is currently in the discussion phase and has not yet been officially submitted to the Convention Secretariat for approval. The Ministry is organizing discussions with stakeholders (government agencies, scientific institutions, local self-government bodies, and NGOs) to finalize the results of the review. Only after the completion of this process will it be possible to define the final version and submit it to the Secretariat for confirmation.
4. Regarding the fourth question, I inform you that within the framework of 'Biodiversity and Sustainable Local Development in Armenia' project, financed by the German Development Bank (KfW), there are plans to establish 'Jermuk' National Park in Vayots Dzor Region and 'Tatev' National Park in Syunik Region. The establishment of these national parks is currently in the technical study and mapping phase; therefore, data regarding their area and boundaries cannot be provided at this time. Following the completion of the technical and feasibility documentation, stakeholder consultation discussions are planned."
December 21, 2025 at 11:34