Building local expertise for biodiversity law in practice
Connecting global commitments with the laws, institutions and communities that put them into effect.
Purpose and approach
The Biodiversity Law and Governance Legal Specialisation Course is a capacity-building programme for students, academics, public officials, legal practitioners and civil society leaders. It strengthens understanding of how law and governance can turn international biodiversity commitments into practical action.
Its central logic is to connect global biodiversity frameworks with the people and institutions responsible for implementing them. By working with universities and partners in the host country, the course helps develop local and regional expertise that can continue informing teaching, policy and legal practice after an international conference has ended.
Learning combines expert teaching with collaborative problem-solving. Participants examine legal and governance challenges, apply ideas to real-world contexts, and share their analysis with peers and practitioners.
Locally grounded
Host-country universities and local partners help connect international commitments to national institutions, regional priorities and local experience.
Connected to global law
Participants explore the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and related international agreements.
Practice focused
Lectures, hypothetical problems, group work and reporting back help participants practise applying legal concepts to implementation challenges.
2026 edition: Yerevan State University
The 2026 Legal Specialisation Course was held in person at the Academic Council Hall, Main Building, Yerevan State University, on Sunday, 25 October during CBD COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia. BLGI and Yerevan State University brought local and international expertise together for a focused day of learning and exchange.
DATE
Sunday, 25 October 2026
TIME
09:00–14:30 Yerevan time (GMT+4)
VENUE
Academic Council Hall, Main Building
Yerevan State University
2026 learning themes
- Foundations of the global biodiversity regime under the Convention on Biological Diversity and introduction to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
- Law, governance and the 30×30 target, including other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) and protected areas.
- Access and benefit-sharing and biosafety.
- The wider biodiversity treaty landscape, including migratory species, CITES, Ramsar and the BBNJ Agreement.
The programme combined expert-led sessions with group assignments based on hypothetical legal problems and short participant reports. It also included a closing ceremony and certificates for participants.
Contributors listed in the programme included Prof Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Prof Markus W. Gehring, Prof Jorge Cabrera Medaglia, Dr Yeghishe Kirakosyan, Adv Maria-Goreti Muavesi, Dr Tejas Rao, Tim Scott and Dr Daniel Ruiz de Garibay.
Yerevan 2026
