The project with its core partners consisting of the Armenian Ministry of the Environment, the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic and the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE will focus on changes in legislation and institutional support in the field of nature and biodiversity conservation for the next two years. The plan of the project reflects the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA [1]) between Armenia and European Union, in particular as regards the cooperation in the conservation of biological diversity.

„From the point of view of diversity of nature, Armenia is a jewel. Our goal is to assist our Armenian colleagues in effective protection of natural heritage despite the difficult times we live in, and to share our experiences from the Czech Republic and Finland. The Czech Republic was a recipient country for various aid programmes in the nineties, and I am glad we can return such aid these days where it is needed“, stated Mr. Jindrich Chlapek, resident twinning adviser to the project based in Yerevan.

Experts from the Czech Republic and Finland will together with their Armenian counterparts review legislation and institutional set-up related to nature and biodiversity protection in Armenia and propose changes in order to comply with CEPA and strengthen legal and institutional aspects of nature protection in Armenia. Seminars, workshops and trainings are planned on this topic to be organised in all ten provinces of Armenia and a couple of study visits to the Czech Republic will be prepared as the covid-19 situation will allow.

In the occasion of the kick-off meeting of the twinning project the Armenian Minister of the Environment Mr. Romanos Petrosyan stressed the following: “The pivotal role of the biodiversity in the life on earth and human well-being cannot be overemphasized. Recognizing that each country has to play its part in conserving the global biodiversity, the Government of the Republic of Armenia considers issues of environmental protection and, in particular, biodiversity conservation, among national and state priorities. Since 2019, the Ministry of Environment has launched the implementation of the respective actions envisaged by the CEPA roadmap signed between the European Union and the Republic of Armenia. To strengthen conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in Armenia in line with international/EU standards the Ministry has started the process of reviewing the RA laws " On Fauna" and "On Flora" in accordance with the EU directives to be developed with the support of Twinning project. Considering the advanced experience of the Czech – Finnish Consortium in the fields of biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of the specially protected areas of nature I am sure that this project will allow us to build stronger collaborations and deliver better results.”

Twinning programme is well established tool of the European Union that supports cooperation of government agencies.

Project web site: www.biodiversity.am

Project is funded by the European Union. The content of this news is the sole responsibility of Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic and Armenian Ministry of the Environment and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

Notes:

[1] https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/eu-armenia_comprehensive_and_enhanced_partnership_agreement_cepa.pdf 

Photo: Tomáš Růžička