Twinning - Armenia - Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic
Twinning
Twinning is an institution building tool based on partnership cooperation between public administrations and accepted mandated bodies of Member States and of a Beneficiary with the purpose of achieving mandatory results/outputs jointly agreed with the Commission. These mandatory results/outputs are linked to policy objectives, such as the preparation of EU enlargement or enhanced cooperation in line with EU policies, as foreseen under the respective IPA and ENI regulations and agreements.
Strengthened protection and sustainable use of biodiversity in Armenia in line with the European standards
Armenia is one of the biodiversity hot spots in the world having a remarkable amount of endemism. Nature is protected in 3 state reserves, 4 national parks, and 259 state sanctuaries and natural monuments.
The Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, together with Finland's SYKE Environmental Institute, started to implement the project "Strengthened protection and sustainable use of biodiversity in Armenia in line with the European standards" at the beginning of 2021. The project supported implementation of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU (CEPA) in the field of biodiversity conservation. It was funded through Europe Aid - Twinning tool.
The goal of the project was to strengthen the capacity of the Armenian Ministry of Environment 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.
Results:
We have provided suggestions to the Armenian Ministry of Environment for improvement of legislation on biodiversity conservation and institutional development in the field of biodiversity and protected areas conservation. We have been also involved in many trainings prepared fo the MoE staff. We organised three study trips for 15 Armenian experts to the Czech Republic and Finland. Special conference on legislation on biodiversity conservation and CEPA implementation was organised at the Armenian National Assembley with participation of Senators from the Czech Republic.
Details about the project outcomes can be found at:
