Ahead of COP17, Armenia boosts cooperation with ICCWC

The head of the Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body, Hovhannes Martirosyan, has chaired the first meeting of the interagency working group coordinating Armenia’s cooperation with the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC).

Representatives of the Office for Coordinating the Work of Inspection Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Office, the Investigative Committee, the State Revenue Committee, the Police, the Ministry of Environment, and other agencies participated in the meeting.

The Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body said in a readout that, during the meeting, Hovhannes Martirosyan presented the main objectives and priorities of the working group, noting that its key goal is to ensure effective coordination, strengthen cooperation among state bodies, and make more targeted use of the tools and opportunities offered by international partners to prevent and combat crimes against wildlife.

The meeting discussed the scope of support opportunities offered by the ICCWC, including a services menu providing targeted assistance in preventing and detecting wildlife and forest crimes, developing law enforcement and supervisory capacities, as well as strengthening chain of custody.

The members of the working group discussed areas of cooperation and support most relevant to the needs and priorities of the Republic of Armenia. In particular, they addressed the development of legal and institutional capacities and the improvement of information-sharing and interagency cooperation mechanisms.

The readout emphasized that the establishment of the working group is also an important step in connection with Armenia’s international commitments and initiatives, including those within the framework of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17), to be held in Yerevan in 2026.