Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) is a German non-governmental organization mainly concerned with nature conservation in the country and abroad, such as the protection of rivers, seas, forests or certain animal species.
The organization was founded on February 1, 1899 by Lina Henle as the Bird Protection Association (BfV)․ It is one of the oldest and largest environmental associations in Germany․ The organization implements special environmental programs, supports its own scientific institutes, provides environmental education, and informs citizens and media about environmental issues.
Together with its Bavarian counterpart, the State Association for the Birds Protection (LBV), which is 10 years younger than NABU, the organization has 900,000 members and sponsors (as of January 2023). Of these, 830,000 are members of local and regional organizations organized into 2,000 groups and regional associations. These in turn are organized into NABU's regional associations.
NABU is a National Partner of BirdLife International.
Today there are 15 regional, about 1500 urban and local branches of the union in the world. There are branches of international projects in Yerevan (Armenia), Brussels (Belgium), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Maykop (Russia) and Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan).
The branch of German Nature Protection Union (NABU) in the Republic of Armenia has been cooperating with the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia since 2001. In the first years of cooperation the priority was given to the implementation of international environmental conventions. Later the cooperation expanded to include joint programms. In March 2007 (NABU) and the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia signed an agreement on cooperation protection of biodiversity in Armenia.
Since 2010, we have been implementing programs aimed at the conservation and protection of nature, biodiversity and the environment in Armenia. Our programs are built on several key pillars.
One of the most important goals is to create or improve an environment in which fauna and flora will be safe and protected, which will contribute to the preservation of human health. Based on this idea, the "Human-Wildlife Conflict" program was created, within the framework of which studies was conducted in the northern regions of Armenia to identify the hotspots of conflict, the reasons for its occurrence and possible solutions. The program was aimed not only at resolving the conflicts that arose in order to avoid socio-economic and human losses, but also at understanding the problems threatening wildlife and the environment and developing a strategy for their conservation. It was this idea that led us to install camera traps in different parts of Armenia, particularly in Dilijan National Park and Syunik region, in order to better understand our nature and develop a proper strategy for its protection.
NABU branch in Armenia attaches great importance to interdisciplinary events, which are designed to raise public awareness and make the existing problems even more audible. We have implemented and continue to implement such events as: "Bird of the year", "Clean coast, clean spring", "Start yourself", "Crane's Year", "Falcon", "Eagles of Armenia", "Vultures Awareness Month" and others. We familiarize people with Armenia's protected areas and biodiversity through various eco-educational activities.
In addition to all this, we do not forget about agriculture, tourism and community development. We implement the programs "Rural Tourism Development" and "Organic Agriculture Development", which promote the development of agriculture and tourism throughout Armenia without harming the environment. We encourage the production of organic food and the presentation of Armenian culture and rural color in rural communities.
Through years of work, numerous programs and campaigns, we have managed to build a team that is committed to promoting biodiversity research, conservation and community development in Armenia. We have managed to create strong and reliable relationships with many organizations, individuals and governmental bodies both in Armenia and abroad.
We consolidate goals and ideas, create new programs, and hold many events, and all these FOR PEOPLE AND NATURE.
