Environment official Voskehat Grigoryan says the Global OECM Action Hub will pool expertise to help countries apply existing conservation criteria outside protected areas.
Armenia’s presidency of COP17, the biodiversity convention’s 17th conference, has launched the Global OECM Action Hub to help countries recognise effective conservation outside protected areas, environment official Voskehat Grigoryan said.
Grigoryan heads the Department for Specially Protected Areas of Nature and Biodiversity Policy at Armenia’s Ministry of Environment. In an interview published on October 28 by Armenpress, she said the hub would bring countries and organisations together, make existing expertise more accessible and help them apply agreed criteria consistently, rather than create new standards.
The initiative builds on OECM identification criteria adopted under the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2018 and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreed in December 2022. That framework includes a 2030 conservation goal to which qualifying OECMs can contribute.
OECM stands for “other effective area-based conservation measures”. These are defined areas outside protected areas whose governance and management deliver lasting conservation of biodiversity—the variety of living things—in the place where it occurs. Unlike protected areas, OECMs need not have conservation as their primary purpose.
The 2018 criteria require an area to be outside the recognised protected-area system, governed and managed, and effective at conserving biodiversity over the long term. They also require conservation of ecosystem functions and services, such as water provision, and respect for relevant cultural, spiritual, socioeconomic and other local values.
Grigoryan said forests, agricultural landscapes and fishing grounds can deliver such results even when conservation is not their main management objective. Recognition depends on meeting the criteria. Countries face technical and institutional difficulties assessing sites, differing interpretations of the rules and uneven access to guidance and experts.
Armenia’s Environment Ministry says the countries have succeeded Colombia and Germany in leading a partnership that helps countries put national biodiversity plans into practice.
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Target 3 of the framework calls for conserving or protecting at least 30% of terrestrial and inland water areas, and at least 30% of marine and coastal areas globally, by 2030. Qualifying OECMs can count towards that goal alongside protected areas. The convention secretariat’s guidance requires respect for Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights, including free, prior and informed consent for decisions concerning their territories. Existing uses may continue where they are sustainable and consistent with conservation objectives.
Grigoryan said the hub would operate under the COP17 presidency’s leadership, in cooperation with the Convention on Biological Diversity secretariat, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Its intended practical contribution is to connect countries and organisations with existing knowledge, guidance and expert support for identifying and assessing OECMs.
The COP17 programme lists a ministerial launch event for the hub on October 28, from 15:00 to 16:30. Funding, a hub-specific operational timetable and measured conservation benefits remain unspecified.
Speaking about the presidency’s initiatives collectively, Grigoryan said governance and working arrangements, plans, and technical and policy discussions were expected after COP17. Support tailored to countries would depend on available partners and resources. Progress would be tracked through national reports and work plans, with results expected to be presented at COP18.
Environment Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan says the Yerevan initiative aims to bring mountain countries together to put conservation into national plans and budgets.
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At Armenia’s UN biodiversity conference, officials and educators are discussing a draft plan intended to connect learning with practical nature conservation.
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