At a session of the Standing Committee on Territorial Administration, Local Self-Government, Agriculture and Environmental Protection, Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan presented the proposal to ratify the Framework Agreement on the International Big Cat Alliance.
The Agreement aims to enhance international cooperation in the conservation of big cats and to prevent further declines in their populations. The Republic of Armenia joined the initiative by signing the relevant document in 2025.
For Armenia, the Agreement is of not only international but also direct national significance. The Caucasian leopard, one of the rarest and most valuable representatives of the country’s fauna, holds a special place within Armenia’s rich biodiversity. As an apex predator, it plays a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem balance and serves as an important indicator of ecosystem health. Its conservation, therefore, goes beyond the protection of a single species and contributes to preserving the overall stability and resilience of natural habitats.
Other feline species are also found in Armenia, including the lynx, the European wildcat, and the manul, the latter two of which are listed in the Red Book of Animals of the Republic of Armenia.
In recent years, Armenia has undertaken consistent and targeted efforts toward the conservation of the leopard, already yielding tangible results. In this context, the Agreement will serve as an additional instrument to advance these efforts in a more systematic, modern, and internationally informed manner.
The initiative is also particularly timely, as Armenia prepares to host the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17).