A roadmap being developed under SEI’s Green Agenda project examines Armenia’s framework for access and benefit-sharing of the country’s genetic material and biodiversity. It suggests that clearer rules could strengthen Armenian science, protect local knowledge and ensure benefits are shared fairly.
When Armenia hosts the upcoming 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17), starting next week in Yerevan from 19 October, international attention will turn to how countries protect nature. For the host country, another question will be equally important: how can its own biodiversity benefit local communities, the country and beyond?
The roadmap for Armenia’s implementation of the Nagoya Protocol, which directs how genetic resources should be accessed, and their benefits shared under the CBD, identifies scientific cooperation – including training, access to technology and shared research findings – as a central opportunity. However, the roadmap notes that Armenia lacks a comprehensive legal framework for securing these benefits, while understanding of the Protocol remains limited, even among researchers whose work it would directly affect.
The roadmap supports Armenia’s Ministry of Environment in strengthening the country’s legal and institutional framework. This work is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and implemented locally through SEI’s partner, the Acopian Center for the Environment at the American University of Armenia.
During CBD COP17, Armenia will also host the meeting of the Nagoya Protocol’s parties. The roadmap calls for Armenia to put foundational rules and institutions in place before that meeting – showing that it takes its obligations under the protocol seriously.
Designed to make the sharing of benefits from genetic resources fairer, the Nagoya Protocol governs material from plants, animals and microorganisms whose genetic or biochemical properties can be studied and used. Simply put, when research or commercial activity draws on those resources, the countries providing them should share the benefits. The protocol also addresses traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources and the rights of the Indigenous and local communities that hold it.
In practice, access and benefit-sharing rest on two main elements. One is permission obtained in advance, known as prior informed consent, and the other is an agreement setting out the conditions of use and benefit-sharing, known as mutually agreed terms.
For Armenia, the roadmap suggests, much of the Nagoya Protocol’s practical value lies in helping its institutions become research partners, rather than simply sources of material. Imagine an overseas university seeking access to a plant collected in Armenia to study its biochemical properties. The partners could specify that Armenian researchers would help design and conduct the study, receive training in laboratory methods and have access to the resulting data. The agreement could also set conditions for transferring samples to another laboratory and establish what happens if the research later moves towards commercial development.
These arrangements would make the benefits less dependent on whether the research produces a marketable product. Even if it does not, Armenian researchers and their institutions could gain skills, knowledge and lasting scientific partnerships. Armenia’s existing rules do not yet provide a complete framework for these relationships.
The roadmap identifies gaps in access procedures, community consent mechanisms, contractual requirements, financial arrangements for benefit-sharing and compliance monitoring. Piecemeal changes to laws governing individual sectors would not be enough to fill these gaps.
The key distinction is between authorizing someone to collect material and establishing what they may subsequently do with it: Who can use a sample? Can it be passed to another organization? What happens when a non-commercial study becomes commercial? Who receives the results – and any other benefits?
The roadmap also identifies a gap in the regulation of genetic information. Existing rules govern activities involving physical specimens of plants, animals and fungi, but they do not regulate how genetic information derived from them is used. The roadmap recommends distinguishing between access to physical specimens and the use of the genetic information, with clear requirements for each.
Clear rules would protect providers, but they would also help researchers and businesses. Knowing which permissions are needed and what an agreement must cover can reduce uncertainty and make legitimate collaboration easier.
Scientific research may begin with knowledge developed outside a laboratory – such as knowing which plant has a particular use, where it grows, or when it should be harvested. The roadmap treats protection of that knowledge as a core part of a lawful benefit-sharing system, not an optional addition.
One central question is how to enable valid prior informed consent for traditional knowledge. Consulting a local authority does not necessarily mean reaching the people who hold the knowledge, nor does directing benefits to an administrative centre guarantee they reach the knowledge-holders who are the intended recipients.
The roadmap recommends
Stakeholder consultations for Armenia’s roadmap struggled to engage participants, with turnout reaching around 20–30% of the planned levels due to low awareness and limited immediate funding prospects. This highlights a practical need: researchers, businesses, public authorities and knowledge-holders require guidance on their rights, responsibilities and opportunities to participate. Building awareness is a prerequisite for effective implementation.
These efforts align with the principle of a “just transition” – ensuring the shift towards a sustainable economy is fair and inclusive. For resource-dependent communities, such as local producers in Armenia’s southern Syunik province who rely on wild harvests using traditional methods, decisions about natural resource access directly affect livelihoods. Local communities’ participation ensures those whose resources and knowledge are involved have a meaningful say.
The roadmap recommends a standalone law on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing, supported by targeted amendments to existing legislation. Beyond issuing permits, the proposed system would establish institutional responsibilities, consent procedures, contract requirements, financial arrangements and compliance checks, with a single system to track agreements and improve transparency.
The Ministry of Environment would have a central role, with initial priorities including:
Hosting a global summit on biodiversity gives Armenia a timely opportunity to connect international commitments with practical improvements at home. Stronger scientific partnerships and meaningful participation of knowledge-holders can yield returns far beyond financial gains, by supporting long-term biodiversity conservation for Armenia and its international partners.
The Roadmap for Implementing the Nagoya Protocol in Armenia was prepared by Davit Khachatyan, Arsen Gasparyan, Meri Batikyan and Yana Khudaverdyan under SEI’s Green Agenda project, with funding from Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and local implementation through SEI’s partner, the Acopian Center for the Environment at the American University of Armenia. Contact the roadmap authors for more information on the roadmap and their work.
Amila Alidzanovic (SEI) and Nane Khachikyan, project coordinator and researcher at the Acopian Center for Environment under the American University of Armenia, contributed to this piece.
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