PANAMA CITY, Panama — From October 20-30, Dr. Arsen Gasparyan, biodiversity expert at the American University of Armenia (AUA) Acopian Center for the Environment, joined the official delegation of the Republic of Armenia, led by Deputy Minister of Environment Aram Meymaryan, to attend the meetings of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD’s) subsidiary bodies on scientific, technical and technological advice and on Indigenous peoples and local communities held in Panama City, Panama.
Dr. Gasparyan, who also serves as assistant professor at the AUA Zaven P. and Sonia Akian College of Science and Engineering, stated: “It is an honor to be part of Armenia’s delegation and participate in these landmark CBD meetings. The discussions here in Panama will shape the scientific and policy directions leading up to COP17 in Yerevan. It’s inspiring to see global collaboration on biodiversity, where Armenia can be a leader.”
These meetings serve as critical preparatory sessions ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the CBD, which Armenia will host in October 2026. These meetings brought together over 190 parties to the Convention and hundreds of experts from around the world to discuss the scientific, technical, and policy foundations necessary to advance the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the key global agreement to halt and reverse global biodiversity loss by 2030.
COP17 will be the first time global progress on meeting the GBF targets will be reviewed. An outcome of the meeting in Panama was the outline detailing what will be reviewed to measure progress toward the implementation of the GBF. Great focus was also placed on aligning the cross-cutting topics of biodiversity and climate, biodiversity and health, biodiversity and food systems, and others.
The second week marked a historic milestone with the first-ever meeting focused on the crucial role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in shaping and implementing the global biodiversity agenda.
During the meetings, Dr. Gasparyan took part in several thematic discussions and participated in the event organized by the Fungi Foundation, engaging with delegates from the United Kingdom, Chile, Peru, Germany, Spain, and other countries. The discussions focused on advancing fungal conservation and integrating fungi into global biodiversity frameworks, a topic of growing significance in biodiversity science and policy.
In addition, Dr. Gasparyan held bilateral meetings with representatives of international scientific communities and partner organizations, exploring collaboration opportunities within the framework of the Science-Policy Forum to be held alongside COP17 in Yerevan. These discussions aim to strengthen the role of science and academia in supporting decision-making and biodiversity conservation policy.
The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment, a research center of the American University of Armenia (AUA), promotes the protection and restoration of the natural environment through research, education, and community outreach. The AUA Acopian Center’s focus areas include sustainable natural resource management, biodiversity protection and conservation, greening the built environment, sustainable energy, as well as information technology and the environment. Visit ace.aua.am
