ECF Regional Consultative Forum 2026 Focuses on Sustainability, Community Conservation and the Future of ECF

The annual gathering brought together government representatives, conservation and legal experts, donors, technical experts, and local community leaders from across the South Caucasus to review the achievements of ECF II, discuss the growing role of OECMs, and chart the course for the newly launched third phase of the programme.

Each year, the Eco-Corridors Fund for the Caucasus (ECF) hosts its Regional Consultative Forum, providing an opportunity for those involved in the programme to share experiences, review progress, and strengthen collaboration across Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Held on July 21, 2026, this year's forum focused not only on the accomplishments of the past decade, but also on ensuring that conservation efforts continue to deliver lasting benefits for both biodiversity and local communities well into the future.

The ECF has now officially entered its third phase, which will run until 2030. As discussions throughout the day made clear, the programme will continue to build on a simple but powerful idea: biodiversity conservation is strongest when local communities are actively involved and have decision making power in protecting and managing the landscapes they live in and depend on.

Thanks to a highly skilled team of translators, the forum was conducted in Armenian, Azerbaijani, English, and Georgian, with real-time interpretation available throughout the event.

Opening Statements

Representatives from the environmental ministries and regional authorities of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan welcomed participants and reflected on the strong partnerships that have developed through the ECF over the past decade.The forum officially opened with welcome remarks from representatives of the Georgian, Armenian, and Azerbaijani governments. Karlo Amirgulashvili from Georgia's Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture emphasized the importance of regional cooperation and acknowledged the strong partnerships that have developed between governments, WWF, ECF, and local communities over the years.

Norayr Abrahamyan from Armenia's Ministry of Environment expressed gratitude for the accomplishments of ECF II and welcomed the launch of ECF III, highlighting the growing importance of community conservation within Armenia.

Representing Azerbaijan, Loghman Aliyev, Deputy Head of the Department of Social-Economic Issues and Head of the Information Support Sector of the Guba region Executive Authority, spoke about the positive impacts ECF has had within the Guba region and reiterated support for future conservation initiatives.

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The forum then welcomed representatives of ECF's international partners and donors. Jens Hagen, Director of KfW's Regional Office South Caucasus, reflected on the collaborative spirit that has developed throughout the programme and spoke on behalf of one of the programme's principal donors. He highlighted both the achievements of ECF II and the growing relevance of community-based conservation within international biodiversity policy.

“Working with locals in nature conservation is not a new idea but is so important and the program has gained even more relevance on the political landscape due to the incorporation of Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) and the community conservation areas which you have been working on for many years. OECMs present a very exciting addition to conservation areas for each country.” - Jens Hagen, KfW Regional Office South Caucasus

A longer welcome speech was then delivered by Giorgi Sanadiradze, Director of WWF Caucasus, who thanked donors, government partners, technical experts, and community members for their continued commitment to the programme.

"When we are talking about eco corridors, not just connecting ecological areas, they are connecting people. Across villages, regions, and countries." - Giorgi Sanadiradze, WWF Caucasus

Sanadiradze emphasized that while the day would review the accomplishments of ECF II, it was equally important to look ahead to ECF III and discuss how conservation outcomes can be sustained long after project funding concludes.

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Results of the Second Phase of the Ecoregional Corridors Programme Opening the session, Jernej Stritih, ECF Chief Technical Advisor, provided an overview of the programme's origins and evolution. Drawing on WWF's Ecoregional Conservation Plan, he explained how conservation practitioners recognized early on that protected areas alone would not be sufficient to safeguard the unique biodiversity of the Caucasus. This is why the programme was designed around ecological corridors, Conservation Agreements, Community-Based Organisations (CBOs), caretaker networks, and long-term partnerships with local communities, he explained.

"By protecting nature and biodiversity, locals are providing an important service and should be rewarded. The basic idea is a win-win situation when both locals and nature benefit.”- Jernej Stritih, ECF Chief Technical Advisor

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The forum then heard updates from the three ECF National Coordinators.

Armen Shahbazyan reviewed progress in Armenia, highlighting the importance of local participation in conservation planning and implementation.

"To be effective, you need to have the local community involved. Without them, nothing would be achieved." - Armen Shahbazyan, ECF National Coordinator, Armenia

Khayyam Ismayil outlined achievements in Azerbaijan, including support for ecotourism initiatives, livestock infrastructure, and community development projects linked to biodiversity conservation.

"We support communities in innovative ways that help them – milling grain, water points for livestock, and supporting ecotourism through the creation of a tourism information centre." - Khayyam Ismayil, ECF National Coordinator, Azerbaijan

And Irakli Gogoladze shared updates from Georgia, emphasizing the human dimension of conservation.

"Interlinking protected areas cannot be done without interlinking people, communities and people's hearts." - Irakli Gogoladze, ECF National Coordinator, Georgia

Closing the session, Steffen Schuelein, Environmental and Social/Community Management Expert, reviewed programme-wide impacts, which include more than 200,000 hectares of land being managed sustainably, 29 CBOs established, and significant progress made in strengthening habitat connectivity, species recovery, climate resilience, and local leadership.

"The approach of ECF has positioned it in the international conservation community, and it has been presented at various international conferences like COP. From that, we can see that the ECF is going beyond the Caucasus region in its impacts.” - Steffen Schuelein, Environmental and Social/Community Management Expert

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Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) Over the past several years, ECF has organized national workshops, legal reviews, and policy discussions focused on how OECMs can complement existing protected area systems while recognizing conservation efforts already taking place on the ground. Presentations from experts in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia explored opportunities for integrating OECMs into national legislation and conservation strategies. Discussing the recent introduction of OECMs into the national legislation in Armenia, legal expert Nazeli Vardanyan outlined the implementation of Other Effective Conservation Measures (OECMs) in Armenia.

Presenting findings from Azerbaijan, Ruslan Salmanov stressed that biodiversity conservation frequently occurs outside formally designated protected areas.

"OECMs should not be viewed as an alternative but as a complementary conservation instrument." - Ruslan Salmanov, National Expert, Azerbaijan

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Next, Anna Rukhadze, national expert provided a detailed analysis of her study on OECMs in Georgia. She highlighted the need for a national definition of OECMs and their recognition as equally important tools for biodiversity conservation as formal protected areas. 

The session concluded with remarks from international OECM expert Sue Stolton, who congratulated the Caucasus countries for their progress and highlighted the importance of adapting global frameworks to local realities.

“We’ve developed a proposed global approach, but it must be adapted to local contexts. The next step is to establish cross-sector OECM committees to develop a standardized assessment framework. We started from the ground up; now we need stronger top-down support at the national level.”  - Sue Stolton, International OECM Expert

She noted that only a small number of countries worldwide have formally reported OECMs, placing the South Caucasus among a relatively small group of regions actively advancing the concept.

Looking Ahead: Plans for the Third Phase of ECF After lunch, the focus shifted toward the future as participants explored priorities, opportunities, and challenges for the third phase of the programme. Jernej Stritih presented an overview of ECF III, which will run from 2026 to 2030 and continue supporting ecological corridors and sustainable land management across Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

"The objective of the 3rd phase of the ECF is similar to the second phase – to provide long-term financial resources for the benefit of ecologically sustainable land-use and improvement of socioeconomic situation in the three countries and to serve as a connection and ecological stabilizer of protected areas."  - Jernej Stritih, ECF Chief Technical Advisor

He added that the next phase will also focus on new Conservation Agreements, strengthening local capacities, supporting the implementation of OECMs, and working towards sustainability of community conservation efforts into the future.

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Khayyam Ismayil then presented potential intervention areas for ECF III, outlining how priority communities are identified.

"Communities are primarily selected for the importance of their land based on biodiversity, their connectivity to the corridors and their willingness to participate." - Khayyam Ismayil, ECF National Coordinator, Azerbaijan

The sustainability of conservation outcomes emerged as a recurring theme throughout the afternoon.

Steffen Schuelein followed with a presentation focused on sustainability, examining how conservation gains can be maintained after project funding concludes. The presentation explored environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability, as well as opportunities for strengthening local institutions and long-term conservation governance.

"Sustainability is so important as no project can last forever, and funds can't last forever. So, at some point, there is a need to think about the transition, and ECF III is focused on that." - Steffen Schuelein, Environmental and Social / Community Management Expert

The forum also explored how community conservation areas can contribute to national biodiversity targets through OECM recognition. Presenting the Georgian experience, Irakli Gogoladze highlighted the progress already made in establishing and managing community conserved areas.

"Community conservation areas demonstrate that local stewardship can deliver measurable conservation outcomes and can contribute to national biodiversity goals. - Irakli Gogoladze, ECF National Coordinator, Georgia

The final technical presentation was delivered by Armen Shahbazyan, who discussed monitoring as a critical tool for long-term conservation success. Using examples from Armenia, he demonstrated how caretakers are now using mobile applications to record wildlife observations and conservation activities, generating valuable information that supports both management decisions and scientific assessment.

"In biodiversity conservation if you don't have data, if you aren't able to see the trends, if you are not able to measure the results of your interventions then how do you show the progress?" - Armen Shahbazyan, ECF National Coordinator, Armenia

Discussion, Closing Remarks and Reflections The forum concluded with a lively discussion session followed by closing remarks reflecting on the programme's achievements and future direction.

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Returning to the podium, Giorgi Sanadiradze reflected on the significance of the discussions and the long-term partnerships that have helped shape the programme.

Looking back on more than a decade of conservation work, he emphasized that one of ECF's greatest strengths has been its commitment to long-term engagement.

"I think that one of the most important aspects of the ECF is time. Many projects last 2-3 years and it is very hard to achieve any significant change. The ECF is long-term and sustainable and are very proud of that."  - Giorgi Sanadiradze, WWF Caucasus

As ECF enters its third phase, the programme continues to demonstrate that effective conservation depends on more than ecological connectivity alone. Through Conservation Agreements, CBOs, caretaker networks, and emerging OECM frameworks, it is helping build stronger connections between landscapes, communities, and institutions across the South Caucasus.

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