Yerevan has gone to great lengths to welcome the COP17 attendees to Armenia. Butterfly-themed art and posters can be found throughout the city, and even bus stops advertise the meeting in Armenian. The butterfly is the Yerevan blue (Polyommatus eriwanensis), an endangered species found only in Armenia. The COP17 logo displays the butterfly in 23 colors, one for each of…
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By Alison Mize, ESA Director of Public Affairs I arrived in Yerevan, Armenia, a few days early for the High-Level Policy Segment of COP17, expecting crowds of delegates and a buzzing conference atmosphere. Instead, I found myself in a surprisingly quiet city, accompanied mostly by journalists, security personnel, and the anticipation of a global gathering that had not yet fully…
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Comment on a sweeping proposed rule that would change how research grants are awarded, administered and terminated.
Read More Sep. 16, 2026 update: This expression-of-interest period has closed. ESA is no longer accepting names for COP17 observer badges. ESA is accepting expressions of interest from members to receive an ESA “observer status” badge to attend the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17), which will take place Oct. 19–30, 2026, in…
Explore the Nature Record draft assessment and share your input.
Help NASEM review the United by Nature assessment report.
By Astrid Caldas The crowds came. The Indigenous peoples staked their claims to representation and rights to land. The connection between biodiversity and climate change is a priority topic in this “Amazon COP”, as are synergies across the three Rio Conventions – which together address the interconnected challenges of climate change, desertification and biodiversity loss. The negative biodiversity impacts of…
ESA staff recently attended an event on Capitol Hill highlighting the importance of federal support for R&D
Recent actions ESA has taken in the science policy arena.
Three students describe their foray into science policy.
GSPA awardee Sarah Cuprewich shares her perspective on science policy and what it was like to participate in this year’s events.
Call or email your senators and ask for strong funding levels for science agencies.