Prosecutor General of Armenia Anna Vardapetyan on Thursday participated in a panel discussion within the framework of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, being held in Yerevan, the Armenian capital.

During the discussion, which was devoted to matters ranging from the legal interpretation of environmental principles to their practical application and ensuring effective environmental protection, the Prosecutor General of Armenia presented the experience of the Prosecutor's Office of the Armenia in ensuring environmental justice and touched upon the return of illegally alienated lands of environmental significance, the elimination of legislative and law-enforcement gaps leading to environmental damage, as well as the Prosecutor's Office’s intervention aimed at protecting wildlife and biodiversity in Armenia.

Reflecting on the work being carried out by the Prosecutor's Office within the framework of the protection of Armenian state and community interests, Anna Vardapetyan emphasized the importance of the protection of specially protected areas of nature, including green areas.

"Our activities are based on an important principle: specially protected areas of nature, including green areas, cannot be private property, they belong to the present and future generations of Armenia," the Prosecutor General of Armenia noted.

She added that as a result of the satisfaction of the claims of the Prosecutor's Office of Armenia and the prosecutorial intervention, state and community property rights to lands of environmental significance have been restored in various provinces of Armenia and in Yerevan.

The Prosecutor General of Armenia emphasized that the institutional role of the Prosecutor's Office of Armenia in the environmental sphere is not limited to the protection of Armenian state and community interests, and that the Prosecutor's Office focuses also on legislative and law enforcement gaps that can lead to environmental damage.

Also, Anna Vardapetyan presented the Prosecutor’s Office’s proposals aimed at preventing the risks of unintended use of land in specially protected areas and damage to natural landscapes.

Reflecting on the international cooperation of the Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia in the fight against environmental violations, the Prosecutor General of Armenia highlighted the fact that the Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia has joined the European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment (ENPE) as an observer.

In conclusion, Anna Vardapetyan emphasized that environmental justice requires consistent work at all stages of the legal process: from the interpretation of environmental principles to the investigation of violations, judicial assessment, implementation of legal remedies, and prevention of further harm.

“The rule of law and environmental protection are not separate goals. And our responsibility is to ensure a real and visible result for the sake of protecting nature, the biosphere, biodiversity, and the human genome,” noted the Prosecutor General of Armenia.