Ahead of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17), representatives of international environmental organisations and Armenian civil society discussed their cooperation agenda in Yerevan on 9 September 2026.
The meeting, entitled “Towards an Inclusive and Impactful CBD COP17: Strengthening Cooperation between the Government of Armenia, International Environmental NGOs and Civil Society,” focused on the conference agenda, lessons learned from previous COPs, and opportunities to establish more effective mechanisms for cooperation during COP17. The meeting was initiated by the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus (REC Caucasus).
The meeting was attended by representatives of Armenian state institutions, Armenian civil society and environmental organisations, as well as representatives of international environmental organisations and partner institutions.
Welcoming remarks were delivered by Aram Meymaryan, Deputy Minister of Environment of the Republic of Armenia; Vardan Karapetyan, Asian Development Bank Senior Climate Change Specialist; and Nune Harutyunyan, Executive Director of the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus (REC Caucasus).
One of the key topics of the meeting was Armenia’s role as the presiding country of CBD COP17, as well as the potential for the upcoming conference to have a transformative impact on the global biodiversity conservation process.
Lessons from Previous COPs for COP17
International partners shared their experience from previous Conferences of the Parties, addressing how COP17 could become a more inclusive, effective and transparent process.
Annie Mark, Senior Director for Global Partnerships at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF); Andras Krolopp, Head of Biodiversity Policy, Europe, at The Nature Conservancy (TNC); Uli Frank Gräbener, Executive Director of Rare Europe; and Ignacio Arroniz Velasco, Senior Associate for Diplomacy at Earth Insight, presented their experience and observations.
September 14, 2026 at 15:19