In celebration of International Biodiversity Day, a two-day intensive training series was held on May 26–27. The event was organized by the UNDP 'BES-Net Armenia' project in cooperation with the RA Ministry of Environment.  The training was conducted by Ms. Armine Abrahamyan, the Coordinator of the BES-Net Armenia project.

The training aimed to develop biodiversity data knowledge and capacities for two stakeholder groups: practitioners (Eco-Patrols of Kotayk and Gegharkunik Regional Department, Sevan Division) and academic sector (students, researchers representing Armenian State Pedagogical University, Armenian National Agrarian University etc.).

On May 26, a practical training session titled "The Digital Key of Blue Sevan" was held for eco-patrols in Sevan. During the session, participants learned about the peculiarities of biodiversity within Sevan Lake basin,  biodiversity data digitization and management tools, and also conducted a field visit to the "Norashen Reserve."

On May 27, a practical training session titled "From Nature to Byte: Student Bioblitz with iNaturalist" was organized for students and researchers in Yerevan. This was followed by a visit to the "Reserve Park Complex" SNCO in Jrvezh. Fieldwork and biodiversity data digitization were carried out at the "Reserve-Park Complex."

Both training courses included theoretical and practical components:

• Introduction to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the significance of Armenia as an associate member country.
• Presentation of the main objectives of the BES-Net Armenia project.
• Biodiversity data management including field data collection, digitization and publication tools.

The eco-patrols highly praised the training, emphasizing in particular that the use of digital tools will directly serve the fulfillment of their monitoring duties.

The students, for their part, enthusiastically welcomed the blended learning model, which combines theoretical knowledge, fieldwork, data digitization, and scientific processing, while providing an opportunity to take an active role in community biodiversity conservation.

As a result, more than 40 beneficiaries (including 22 young people) are now working on the digital platform to digitize the data collected in the field. The biodiversity data digitization efforts will continue until June 15.

An additional field visit to the “Norashen Reserve” is also planned for the Sevan eco-patrols. At the end of the courses, all participants will receive certificates.