Armenia and ECA mark International Day for Biodiversity with a call for local action and global impact

Addis Ababa, 22 May 2026 - The Embassy of Armenia in Ethiopia and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) today marked the International Day for Biological Diversity with a high-level discussion on "Local Action for Global Impact: Road to COP17" at ECA headquarters in Addis Ababa.

The event brought together diplomats, United Nations representatives, development partners and civil society leaders to reflect on the urgent need to protect biodiversity, scale nature-positive investments and strengthen Africa's voice in global biodiversity negotiations ahead of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, to be hosted by Armenia in Yerevan in 2026.

Opening the discussion, Sahak Sargsyan, Ambassador of Armenia to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to ECA, UNEP, UN-Habitat and the African Union, said Armenia approaches its COP17 Presidency with a strong commitment to continuity, inclusiveness and respect for the intergovernmental nature of the Convention, while ensuring meaningful engagement with stakeholders.

"Despite the geographical distance, Armenia and Africa share common experiences of resilience in the face of vulnerability," Ambassador Sargsyan said. "Climate change, water scarcity and biodiversity loss affect the daily lives of people in both Armenia and Africa, reminding us how interconnected we are."

He stressed that Africa, home to more than a quarter of global biodiversity, must be fully represented in the COP17 process. Armenia, he said, is committed to ensuring that Africa's voice is heard and that the concerns of African partners are properly addressed.

A central priority of COP17 will be the first Global Review of collective progress in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The review will assess progress, identify gaps and challenges, and highlight best practices based on national reports, National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, regional dialogues, scientific data and contributions from non-governmental stakeholders.

COP17 will also focus on resource mobilization, financial mechanisms, the empowerment of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, and stronger synergies across multilateral environmental agreements addressing biodiversity loss, climate change, land degradation and pollution.

For his part, Charles Akol, Environmental Affairs Officer with the ECA's Climate Change, Food Security and Natural Resources Division, underscored that biodiversity must be understood not only as an environmental concern, but as a strategic foundation for economic transformation, resilience and sustainable development in Africa.

"Biodiversity is not a constraint on Africa's development. It is one of the continent's greatest comparative advantages," he said. "The task is to build the policies, institutions and investment frameworks that allow that advantage to be realized sustainably and equitably."

The discussion highlighted Africa's extraordinary natural endowment, including eight of the world's biodiversity hotspots, the Congo Basin forest and the continent's marine, freshwater, savannah and agricultural ecosystems. Participants stressed that these assets underpin food security, climate regulation, livelihoods and economic opportunity for hundreds of millions of people.

Mr. Akol also called for biodiversity to be embedded in national development plans, industrialization strategies, trade policy, climate frameworks and investment priorities. Through its Framework for National Nature Strategies, ECA is supporting African countries to align biodiversity commitments with macroeconomic planning and nature-positive development pathways.

The event also addressed the biodiversity finance gap, underlining that closing this gap will require both increased investment in nature and the redirection of financial flows that currently contribute to nature loss. Public finance remains essential, but private capital, innovative instruments and credible markets will be critical to scaling action.

Mr. Akol also highlighted ECA's work on a Biodiversity Credit Toolkit for policymakers, designed to help African governments develop enabling environments for credible, transparent and equitable biodiversity credit markets. The toolkit will support governments in shaping policy and regulatory frameworks, strengthening safeguards, promoting accountable market governance and ensuring that local communities and Indigenous Peoples benefit from conservation and restoration efforts.

The event concluded with a shared call to empower local actors, link biodiversity to climate action, jobs and poverty reduction, strengthen regional cooperation and reposition nature as a core economic asset in Africa's development journey.

Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: [email protected]