A range of different ministries and institutions are involved in managing activities relating to biodiversity conservation in Armenia. In addition, many other bodies, including businesses and NGOs are affected by, or have important impacts on, biodiversity conservation.

Government agencies

The Ministry for Nature Protection (MNP) has overall responsibility for the management of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use in the Republic of Armenia. The Ministry implements State policy relating to biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and species regeneration, and oversees environmental regulations, the development of principles for and monitoring of natural resource use. The central department of the MNP is responsible for biodiversity conservation, inter-ministerial co-ordination and international collaboration on this issue. Other departments of the MNP have more specific responsibilities.

· Hayantar State Enterprise is responsible for management of some forestry concessions (23 Forest Areas) and a number of protected areas (14 Conservation Areas)
· The Department of Protected Areas is responsible for management and conservation within protected areas, and manages five Reserves, one Conservation Area, and Lake Sevan National Park.
· The State Inspectorate is responsible for monitoring of legal limits on use, in relation to conservation of biodiversity, through six regional inspectorates.
· At a regional level, marz-level authorities also undertake the responsibilities of the Ministry of Nature Protection, and at a local level, local authorities undertake Ministry of Nature Protection responsibilities.

The Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for the management of agrobiodiversity in Armenia, and this is implemented through a number of structures within the ministry:

· The State Land Cultivation Inspectorate
· The State Soil Inspectorate
· The Department for Protection of Agrobiodiversity
· The State Inspectorate for Livestock Breeding and Husbandry
· The Veterinary and Animal-breeding Department
· Livestock Breeding and Valuable Livestock Species Treatment Department
· The Department for Plant Cultivation, Selection and Nurseries
· Regional Agrarian Inspectorates are responsible for monitoring of agrobiodiversity

Non-Governmental organisations

Several NGOs are actively involved in biodiversity conservation activities, and over 50 NGOs undertake ecological education, disseminate information, provide expert assessments or participate in specific conservation projects. However, the activities and impacts of the NGO movement are considered to be fairly limited at present. The effectiveness of NGOs is limited by financial constraints; membership fees provide only limited resources and such NGOs generally rely on the initiatives of a few individuals and on financial assistance from international donors. Furthermore, NGO activities are undermined by a lack of co-ordination between their activities and the work carried out by the Ministry of Environment.
One of the most active NGOs is the Environmental Protection Advocacy Centre (EPAC), which aims to promote environmental legislation and public participation in the development of such laws. EPAC has contributed to the development of two new draft laws for the protection of fauna and flora. However, as stated above (section 2.3.2), most NGOs are still constrained financially, and do not generally co-ordinate their activities with the MNP.

Other institutions

Several other ministries and institutions are involved in biodiversity conservation and use, and are listed below. In addition, several companies, organisations and entrepreneurs are involved in plant collection, hunting and reintroduction, but their impacts are difficult to assess.

· The Armenian Hunting and Fisheries Union (HayVorsMiutyun) is responsible for issuing hunting and fishing permits, in co-ordination with the MNP. The union was previously financed by the State and was active in all the main hunting regions, over an area of 84,000ha. The union currently has a membership of 2,000 hunters, but receives no State support and struggles to conduct its anti-poaching and supplementary activities at a much smaller scale. Permits from the MNP are also issued by the union for commercial fisheries in Lake Sevan.
· The Ministry of Education and Science develops educational and scientific programmes relating to biodiversity conservation.
· The Tax Inspectorate is responsible for the monitoring of import and export of fauna and flora species, and has a role in implementing relevant health and phytosanitary regulations.

· The Consumers Union (Haykop) organises the collection, storage and export of medicinal herbs in different regions of Armenia.

An adequate institutional and administrative base for management of biodiversity conservation exists in Armenia. However this system is not as effective as it should be in the context of modern approaches to biodiversity and the country's obligations to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The main issues to be tackled include:

· The lack of an integrated national and governmental strategy for biodiversity management.
· A lack of clarification of the various roles of State, regional and local management agencies.
· The management system and implementation regimes are not in line with current economic conditions, especially in regard to land privatisation
· There are no guidelines or regulations for agencies involved in the conservation and monitoring of biodiversity.
· The work of the Ministry of Nature Protection is limited by financial constraints and a lack of appropriate technical equipment.
· The agencies responsible for protected areas are limited by financial constraints, lack of equipment and the absence of a clear system or management plan.
· There is a lack of participation by local communities in the State management of biodiversity conservation
· There is a lack of co-ordination between the activities undertaken by NGOs and the state management system for biodiversity conservation.