Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade: Strengthening Regional Cooperation in the Caucasus

On February 17–18, Ruben Khachatryan, Founding Director of FPWC and IUCN Regional Councillor for Eastern Europe, North and Central Asia, participated in a two-day workshop titled "Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade in the Caucasus," held in Yerevan. The event brought together senior officials from Armenia and Georgia alongside international experts, with a shared purpose: building the regional enforcement capacity needed to stop the illicit trafficking of wild fauna and flora across one of the world's most biodiverse — and most pressured — landscapes.

The workshop was co-organized by FPWC and Fauna & Flora, which has been at the forefront of efforts to tackle illegal wildlife trade for almost two decades, Fauna & Flora in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia and the Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body. TRAFFIC, a trusted advisor to governments, businesses, law enforcement, and communities worldwide on tackling the root causes of illegal trade in wild species, TRAFFIC also contributed expert analysis on global and regional dynamics.

Discussions spanned legislative frameworks and their practical gaps, the role of digital platforms and the "Single Window" system in strengthening regulatory transparency, and the specific wildlife trade threats facing the Caucasus — a region where illegal logging, poaching, and the illegal wildlife trade rank among the primary threats to biodiversity. Caucasus Nature Fund Participants moved from policy to practice: hands-on exercises covered CITES procedures and species identification, working groups developed cross-border detection mechanisms, and particular attention was given to the role of canine services and the experience of Georgian customs authorities — an area where Fauna & Flora has been building capacity through training in sniffer dog use, species identification, and CITES enforcement.

The workshop is part of a deliberate arc. As Armenia prepares to host CBD COP17 in Yerevan in October 2026, the credibility of its conservation commitments will rest not only on protected area coverage or restoration targets, but on functioning enforcement systems. FPWC's role in convening this workshop — bringing together two governments, international conservation organisations, and law enforcement practitioners — reflects the institution-building work that must accompany policy ambition if the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework's targets are to be met on the ground.