UNESCO co-leads talks on draft biodiversity education plan
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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At Armenia’s UN biodiversity conference, officials and educators are discussing a draft plan intended to connect learning with practical nature conservation.
Officials and educators at Armenia’s COP17 UN biodiversity conference are discussing a draft global plan to teach people about biodiversity—the variety of life—and help them take part in nature conservation. The proposed Global Plan of Action for Education on Biodiversity aims to build knowledge, conservation skills and public participation.
Biodiversity Education Day is organised by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Commission on Education and Communication; and Armenia’s COP17 presidency. The commission’s programme listed the event for 27 October 2026, from 13:00 to 20:00 at the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Pavilion in Yerevan, co-led by the commission and UNESCO with the biodiversity convention’s secretariat.
The talks build on the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, approved in December 2022 with 23 targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. The Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat says the previous conference, COP16, called for the education plan, which it is developing with UNESCO and other organisations.
Armenia’s Education, Science, Culture and Sport Minister Zhanna Andreasyan said conservation must begin with education that develops environmental awareness, critical thinking and responsible behaviour from an early age. Her ministry’s statement, carried by Armenpress, set out a role for learning that goes beyond theory: learners should apply their knowledge by joining environmental initiatives and strengthening their connections with nature and their communities.
Andreasyan said Armenia’s rich biodiversity and natural ecosystems are national assets that require a consistent, long-term conservation policy. She called for cooperation linking national education policies and environmental initiatives with civil society, young people, local communities and international organisations.
Environment official Voskehat Grigoryan says the Global OECM Action Hub will pool expertise to help countries apply existing conservation criteria outside protected areas.
3 min
Astrid Schomaker, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, emphasised young people’s active involvement and described the proposed plan as an important guide for coordinating international efforts.
UNESCO’s director of ecological and earth sciences, António Abreu, said achieving global biodiversity goals requires changes in how people perceive and value their relationship with nature. Education should extend beyond classrooms, he said, connecting knowledge with practical action and conservation with everyday life.
The convention’s secretariat describes the proposed plan as a flexible, voluntary framework covering schools, organised learning outside schools and informal learning in everyday life. It aims to bring biodiversity into lifelong learning and help people make informed decisions and act together to support the global conservation framework.
The Education Day programme includes discussions and interactive workshops on teaching biodiversity at different education levels, developing teachers’ skills, new approaches to environmental education and wider community participation. Participants include representatives of state bodies, international and non-governmental organisations, educational institutions, youth initiatives and the environmental sector.
The plan remains a draft. COP17 is scheduled to continue in Yerevan until 30 October.
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.
2 min
Environment Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan says the Yerevan initiative aims to bring mountain countries together to put conservation into national plans and budgets.
2 min