Name Surname
Title / Role — to be confirmed
Organisation — to be confirmed
COP17 · YEREVAN, ARMENIA
High-Level Global Symposium on Conservation Governance
Communities and the State. Making Conservation Whole.
📅
Convened by FPWC immediately ahead of CBD COP17, this symposium brings together governments, civil society, indigenous leaders, and conservation institutions to address the governance gap at the heart of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework — and to produce a shared call to action.
ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM
Closing the governance gap
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework's Target 3 commits the world to protecting 30% of terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine areas by 2030. Yet the frameworks needed to recognise and finance non-state conservation — Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), Privately Protected Areas (PPAs), and Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) — remain absent or underdeveloped in most national legislation.
This symposium convenes the senior experts, policymakers, and practitioners needed to change that. Its central output is the Yerevan Call to Action: a formally adopted policy instrument that will be tabled at COP17, calling on Parties to establish legal and financial frameworks for non-state conservation governance.
Armenia — host of CBD COP17 and home to the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge, one of the South Caucasus's most significant privately protected areas — provides both the political moment and a living case study for what non-state conservation governance can achieve.
The Symposium will:
- Advance recognition of OECMs in national 30×30 targets
- Bridge state and non-state conservation governance frameworks
- Launch the Yerevan Call to Action ahead of COP17 negotiations
THE YEREVAN CALL TO ACTION
A policy instrument for CBD COP17
The Yerevan Call to Action is the Symposium's principal output — a formally negotiated policy instrument produced through two days of working group deliberation, adopted by consensus, and collectively signed by participants before being tabled at COP17.
What it calls for
Legal definitions and recognition procedures for OECMs, PPAs, and ICCAs in national legislation · Outcome-based eligibility criteria compatible with international reporting standards · Finance mechanisms that reach non-state actors managing effective conservation areas · Community and indigenous rights embedded in — not subordinated to — governance frameworks
How the Call to Action is produced
- 1Working Group drafts text through monthly meetings, June–September 2026
- 2All 200 Symposium participants engage with the draft across both days, 17–18 October
- 3Final text adopted by consensus in the Day 2 plenary session
- 4Armenia's COP17 delegation formally tables the signed instrument at COP17 opening plenary
The working draft is in preparation and will be released in late August 2026. Leave your details below and we will notify you the moment it is available for comment.
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Symposium Programme — Full Agenda
Session schedule, speakers, working group structure · Available September 2026
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PROGRAMME AT A GLANCE
How the two days are structured
The detailed agenda — exact timings, speakers, and room assignments — will be published as a downloadable PDF in September 2026. In the meantime, here is the indicative structure the Working Group is planning around.
⚠ Draft structure — subject to change
Day 1 · 17 October
Opening & Framing
Morning
High-level opening ceremony · Keynote addresses on the governance gap
in the Kunming-Montreal Framework
Midday
Plenary panel: Communities and the State — framing the Symposium's
central question
Afternoon
Parallel Working Group sessions (WG-A through WG-D) — first round of
deliberation on draft Call to Action text
Evening
Welcome reception hosted by FPWC
Day 2 · 18 October
Deliberation & Adoption
Morning
Working Group sessions continue — second round of textual
negotiation
Midday
Cross-stream synthesis session — Working Group rapporteurs present
consolidated draft text
Afternoon
Day 2 plenary — adoption of the Yerevan Call to Action by
consensus
Closing
Signing ceremony · Closing remarks · Path to COP17
This structure reflects the Working Group's current planning as of June 2026 and is provided for orientation purposes only. Session order, timing, and content may change before the final programme is published.
SPEAKERS & MODERATORS
Who will be in the room
Speaker and moderator cards are updated as confirmations are received. Full programme available once the agenda is published.
Speakers
Name Surname
Title / Role — to be confirmed
Organisation — to be confirmed
Name Surname
Title / Role — to be confirmed
Organisation — to be confirmed
Name Surname
Title / Role — to be confirmed
Organisation — to be confirmed
Name Surname
Title / Role — to be confirmed
Organisation — to be confirmed
Name Surname
Title / Role — to be confirmed
Organisation — to be confirmed
Moderators
Name Surname
Moderator — to be confirmed
Organisation — to be confirmed
Name Surname
Moderator — to be confirmed
Organisation — to be confirmed
Name Surname
Moderator — to be confirmed
Organisation — to be confirmed
PROGRAMME THEMES
Four working group streams
The Symposium works in four parallel streams across both days. Click any stream to learn more about its scope, questions, and expected outputs.
WG-A
Legal & institutional frameworks
How countries build the legal architecture to recognise and support non-state conservation.
WG-B
Indigenous rights & community governance
Land tenure, community rights, and how formal recognition can support community autonomy.
WG-C
Outcome-based eligibility & monitoring
Technical criteria for site-level screening, monitoring standards, and international reporting.
WG-D
Conservation finance & incentive design
Finance mechanisms that reach non-state actors: PES, biodiversity credits, blended finance.
WG-A
Legal & institutional frameworks
Scope
This stream examines the legal definitions, recognition procedures, registry standards, and eligibility criteria for OECMs and PPAs in national legislation. It draws on comparative legal analysis from countries that have enacted enabling frameworks — and from those that have not.
Key questions
- –What legal definition should an OECM carry in national law?
- –How should recognition procedures work — who decides, and on what criteria?
- –What institutional home should non-state conservation governance have within government?
Expected output
A set of draft legislative principles and model provisions for the Yerevan Call to Action, covering definitions, recognition, and registry design for national implementation of Target 3.
More information
Detailed session agenda, background papers, and rapporteur details will be published here once the programme is finalised in September 2026.
WG-B
Indigenous & Community-Governed Areas
Scope
Areas governed by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) are among the most ecologically effective conservation areas globally, yet most national frameworks fail to recognise them — whether that governance is formalised as an ICCA, falls under community-based conservation, or has no current legal category at all. This stream examines land tenure, community rights, and how formal recognition can support, rather than undermine, community autonomy.
Key questions
- –How can state recognition of IPLC-governed areas avoid co-opting or constraining existing community governance?
- –What processes are needed to engage custodians and stewards so that formal recognition strengthens, rather than threatens, their governance arrangements?
- –What land tenure protections are necessary to make recognition durable, whichever pathway is chosen?
- –How should indigenous peoples' organisations participate in governance design at the national level?
Expected output
Principles for rights-compatible recognition of indigenous and community-governed areas — including safeguards and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) mechanisms — applicable across ICCA, OECM, and other national recognition pathways, for inclusion in the Yerevan Call to Action.
More information
Detailed session agenda, background papers, and rapporteur details will be published here once the programme is finalised in September 2026.
WG-C
Outcome-based eligibility & monitoring
Scope
What biodiversity outcomes qualify a site as an OECM? This stream develops technical criteria for site-level screening, monitoring standards, and compatibility with international reporting databases including the World Database of Protected Areas.
Key questions
- –What minimum biodiversity outcomes should an OECM demonstrate?
- –How can monitoring be made proportionate and accessible for non-state actors?
- –How should OECM data feed into national biodiversity reporting?
Expected output
A technical annex on eligibility criteria and monitoring standards for the Yerevan Call to Action, designed to be compatible with IUCN and CBD reporting frameworks.
More information
Detailed session agenda, background papers, and rapporteur details will be published here once the programme is finalised in September 2026.
WG-D
Conservation finance & incentive design
Scope
Even recognised OECMs struggle to access conservation finance. This stream examines payment for ecosystem services, biodiversity credits, development bank instruments, and blended finance structures that can reach non-state actors at scale.
Key questions
- –What finance mechanisms can be unlocked through OECM recognition?
- –How can biodiversity credits be designed to avoid greenwashing?
- –What role can multilateral development banks play in financing non-state areas?
Expected output
Finance design principles and recommended mechanisms for the Yerevan Call to Action, aimed at making biodiversity finance accessible to non-state conservation actors.
More information
Detailed session agenda, background papers, and rapporteur details will be published here once the programme is finalised in September 2026.
LATEST UPDATES
News & updates
Speaker confirmations, draft releases, and programme news, posted here as the Symposium takes shape.
23 June 2026
COP17 dates confirmed: 19–30 October 2026, Yerevan
The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity will be held in Yerevan, Armenia, from 19 to 30 October 2026. Armenia's government has been preparing to host si...
Read more
23 June 2026
SBSTTA-28 and SBI-7: the last scientific and technical checkpoint before Yerevan
Before any government arrives in Yerevan in October, the Convention on Biological Diversity's two subsidiary bodies meet back-to-back in Nairobi to finish the technical groundwork that COP17 will b...
Read more
23 June 2026
What is the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework — and why does Target 3 matter?
In December 2022, at COP15 in Montreal, 196 countries adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) — the agreement that now sets the world's course on nature for this deca...
Read morePARTICIPATE
Register to attend
The Symposium is an invitation-only event for up to 200 delegates. Fill in the form below and we will be in touch with formal invitation details and accreditation information. We aim to respond within 10 working days.
🔒 Your information will not be shared with third parties.
PARTNERSHIP & SPONSORSHIP
Join the institutions shaping this agenda
Sponsorship supports delegate travel, the Working Group process, and the Symposium's production. Partners are credited across the website, programme, and at the Symposium venue.
Tier 1
Strategic Partner
- —Co-branding on Symposium materials & stage
- —Named in the Yerevan Call to Action
- —Named session sponsorship
- —Corporate partnership with the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge
- —4–6 delegate passes
Full benefits on request
Tier 2
Conservation Partner
- —Logo on Symposium materials & website
- —Named in the Symposium press release
- —Reserved seating at the opening ceremony
- —Invitation to the post-Symposium dinner
- —2–3 delegate passes
Full benefits on request
Tier 3
Supporting Partner
- —Logo on the website & printed programme
- —Acknowledged in the post-event public report
- —1–2 delegate passes
Full benefits on request
Interested in partnering?
Leave your details and preferred tier — we'll follow up with the full prospectus and pricing.
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WORKING GROUP
Institutional members
The Working Group is the decision-making body responsible for the Symposium's governance, programme design, and the drafting of the Yerevan Call to Action. It meets monthly from June through October 2026.
Aram Meymaryan
Deputy Minister of Environment
Armenia
Tim Badman
Director, Protected, Conserved
and Heritage Areas Team
IUCN
Mariano Castro
Consultant, Peace and
Biodiversity Dialogue Initiative (PBDI)
UN
Biodiversity
Oliver Avramoski
Director
IUCN
ECARO
Divija Jata
Coordinator, Belgian
Biodiversity Platform
IUCN BE
Focal Point
Ruben Khachatryan
Director of FPWC, IUCN Regional Councilor
FPWC
Sona Kalantaryan
Programme Director
FPWC
Francoise Jacob
UN Resident Coordinator
Armenia
Megan Eldred
Senior Policy Manager, Sites
BirdLife
International
Richard Cuthbert
Director of Conservation
World
Land Trust
Trevor Sandwith
Director
IUCN
Centre for Conservation Action
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS
Supported by
Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
IUCN Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (IUCN ECARO)
BirdLife International
BirdLife Europe and Central Asia
World Land Trust
Ucom
ArmSwissBank
IUCN National Committee of Armenia
CONTACT & INFORMATION
Get in touch
Registration & accreditation
To register interest or enquire about attending as a CBD observer organisation.
symposium@fpwc.orgCall to Action comments
Send written comments on the draft Yerevan Call to Action. All submissions reviewed by the Working Group rapporteur.
calltoaction@fpwc.orgPartnerships & sponsorship
Interested in supporting the Symposium or exploring institutional partnership.
symposium@fpwc.org