How to Make a Biodiversity COP Matter

The event is part of the Talks Series “From Montreal to Yerevan: An Armenian-Quebec dialogue on the path to COP17,” organized by the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment and la Société pour la nature et les parcs (SNAP Québec). The event is also presented within the framework of the Road to COP17 Initiative, a year-long series of activities in Armenia to boost national awareness and capacities ahead of COP17 to be held in Yerevan, Armenia, from October 19 to 30, 2026.

The panelists discussed expectations for the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to be held in Yerevan in October 2026, as well as lessons learned and achievements from COP15 in Montreal. Important focus was on how to develop transformative, innovative, and effective approaches to COP17 and the multitude of opportunities that follow.

Panelists: Steven Guilbeault, former Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Canada, and co-host of COP15 Montreal
Alice de Swarte, Strategy Advisor, SNAP Quebec
Aram Meymaryan, Deputy Minister of Environment, Republic of Armenia

Moderator: Alen Gasparian Amirkhanian, Director, AUA Acopian Center for the Environment

Date and Time: March 26, 2026, 7 pm (Yerevan time) | 11 am (Quebec time)