Iran, Armenia plan talks on joint peace park to protect wildlife
Iran has proposed a joint “peace and friendship park” with Armenia and closer cooperation to protect the Aras River, a transboundary river between two countries, seeking to safeguard biodiversity and wildlife corridors along their shared border.
Hamid Zohrabi, deputy head of Iran’s Department of Environment for natural environment and biodiversity, put forward the proposals at a meeting with Armenian Deputy Environment Minister Aram Meymaryan in Yerevan, IRNA reported.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) on Friday.
Zohrabi thanked the Armenian government and people for hosting the conference and welcoming its participants. He identified protection of the Aras River and creation of a cross-border park as two key areas for bilateral environmental cooperation.
“The proposed park would support biodiversity protection in northwestern Iran and the Caucasus region,” he said.
It would also help preserve important wildlife corridors used by species such as the Persian leopard, Zohrabi added.
Meymaryan welcomed both proposals and thanked the Iranian delegation for its active participation in COP17. The two sides agreed to establish a joint working group after the conference to pursue the initiatives.
At the end of the meeting, the Iranian delegation presented Meymaryan with a sculpture of the Asiatic cheetah as a memento.
COP17 is being held in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, from October 18 to 31, 2026. Participants are reviewing progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and discussing ways to accelerate conservation, secure funding and strengthen international cooperation.