Successful Completion of the Autumn School on Biosphere Reserves in Armenia

Participants, including young professionals, university students, and government representatives, were equipped with the knowledge and tools to actively contribute to the establishment of biosphere reserve in Armenia. Working groups developed comprehensive and innovative zoning and governance models, ensuring a balance between environmental protection and sustainable development in the proposed Dilijan Biosphere Reserve. 

Together with trainers from Armenia, Mr. Petr Cupa, Deputy Director of the Lower Morava Biosphere Reserve in Czech Republic was invited as a co-trainer to share his expertise and experience on BR governance. His contributions provided a valuable global perspective, significantly enriching discussions on governance systems for biosphere reserves, and offering practical insights from international best practices. 

The Autumn School was organized by the Center for Ecological-Noosphere Studies (CENS) of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Michael Succow Foundation and SOLUTON LLC. It was funded by the Higher Education and Science Committee of MESCS of the Republic of Armenia, CENSr of NAS RA, and as part of the project „Biosphere Reserves as model regions for climate change mitigation and adaptation – capacity development for the establishment of the Dilijan Biosphere Reserve in Armenia”, which is implemented with the support of the Ministry of Environment of Armenia, funded by the German Federal Environment Ministry’s Advisory Assistance Programme (AAP) for environmental protection in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia and other countries neighboring the European Union and supervised by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the German Environment Agency (UBA).