PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Need for this project on enhancing biodiversity conservation in Armenia resulted from CEPA (The Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU) and Armenia’s efforts to improve its legislation and governance structure in order to improve conservation of nature and biodiversity.
Overall objective:
To strengthen conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in Armenia in line with international/EU standards.
Specific objective:
To strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Environment (MoE) to comply with the commitments taken under CEPA and its Roadmap in the field of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
By signing CEPA, the Republic of Armenia agreed to undertake measures geared towards improved protection and sustainable use of biodiversity. Those, in particular, envisage review and alignment of the national legislation with the EU standards; preparing inventory of sites, designation of these sites and establishing priorities for their management; establishing measures required for the conservation of such sites; establishing a system to monitor conservation status of species; and establishing a mechanism to promote education and general information to the public.
Ruzanna Grigoryan, Armenian Ministry of Environment
EU Twinning Programme
After preparation of the project fiche for EU Twinning programme (European Union instrument for institutional cooperation between Public Administrations of EU Member States and of beneficiary or partner countries) by the Armenian Ministry of Environment, the EU organised an open tender for the project fiche implementation. Project of a consortium formed by the Czech Nature Conservation Agency and Finnish Environmental Institute was selected and approved for funding.
Jindrich Chlapek, Resident Twinning Advisor, Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic
Project Activities
Component 1 – Drafting legislation on biodiversity conservation
We analyse the recent legislation related to biodiversity conservation in Armenia and prepare recommendations for its enhancement in a line with the EU nature conservation directives. Experience with transposition of the EU directives into national legislations of the Czech Republic and Finland is a valuable asset we utilize. The process of drafting the legislation will build upon consultations with various experts from the Ministry of Environment, universities, NGOs and other stakeholders.
Component 2 – Capacity building
Institutional set up as well as skills of employees at all levels of nature conservation authorities are important components in the system of nature conservation. Based on discussions with various experts and stakeholders we are going to propose possible changes in nature conservation governance in Armenia. Several capacity building trainings will be organised.
Component 3 – Awareness raising
The best way how to share knowledge and provide experience based on lessons learnt is to show the good and bad examples directly in the field in countries with transition experience. We organize three study trips to the Czech Republic for experts of the Armenian Ministry of Environment, its SNCOs (State Non-Comercial Organizations), journalists, NGOs and other stakeholders. We also develop seminars on proposed legal and institutional changes and discussion roundtables. This web page is also a substantial tool for disseminating information about the project and related topics.
Component 4 - Biodiversity conservation strategy
The component was added to the activities during the project implementation. The Biodiversity Conservation Strategy for Armenia was drafted by the Czech expert team and the Armenian Ministry of Environment. The Strategy already implemented the targets agreed by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.