Vardan Melikyan

Vardan Melikyan serves as the Director of ArAves NGO since April 2025, bringing with him nearly two decades of leadership in biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and environmental governance. His appointment reflects ArAves’ commitment to advancing evidence-based, inclusive, and nationally grounded solutions for the protection and restoration of Armenia’s ecosystems.

Vardan’s professional background includes senior roles in national government and international organizations, including as Deputy Minister of Environment of Armenia, where he led policy formulation in forestry, biodiversity, and protected areas management. He has also served as National Focal Point to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Political and Operational Focal Point to the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and Vice-Chair of the UNECE Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry, contributing to regional and global environmental cooperation.

His work has focused on aligning national strategies with global biodiversity and climate goals, including the Bonn Challenge, and developing legal, institutional, and financial mechanisms to support landscape restoration and nature-based solutions. He has led and contributed to numerous technical assistance projects financed by organizations such as UNDP, UNEP, GIZ, and the Asian Development Bank, focusing on forest landscape restoration, ecosystem services valuation, climate risk assessment, and adaptation finance.

A strong advocate for inclusive environmental governance, Vardan has extensive experience in facilitating stakeholder dialogues, community-based conservation planning, and institutional capacity-building across Armenia and the wider region.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Moscow State University and has completed advanced international training programs in ecosystem services, sustainable finance, and environmental governance, including certificates from EDHEC Business School, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and University of Geneva.

Under his leadership, ArAves continues to scale its impact through science-based advocacy, collaborative partnerships, and innovative approaches to conservation that work for both nature and people.

Ashot Bleyan

He was born in Yerevan, Armenia on 4 September 1955.

Bleyan graduated from Yerevan State University as a physicist. Together with Ashot Dabaghyan and Ashot Manucharyan, he co-founded School No. 183 now known as Mkhitar Sebastatsi Educational Complex in Yerevan, Armenia. Bleyan became the director of the school in 1989. After serving as vice president in the Yerevan Municipality’s Executive Committee, he was elected to the Armenian Parliament in 1990.

He was appointed Armenian Education Minister serving 1994 to 1995 in the government headed by Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan. He became Vice Minister for the Ministry of Education and Science from 1995-1996.

Between 1994 and 2002, he served as president of the New Path (in Armenian «Նոր ուղի») political party.

Bleyan has number of publications in the pedagogical, educational, political and publicistic articles in newspapers and magazines, anthologies.

Alan Knight

Alan became interested in animals at an early age. He lived in Romford East London and surprised his teachers at the local comprehensive school by attending a career talk and announcing he wanted to work with butterflies rather than become a tool maker in the local factory. The career teacher laughed and said he would need to get a degree in Biology to even be considered and this was beyond the horizons of a lad from North Romford comprehensive school.

On Graduating from Sussex University with a BSC(Hons) in Biological sciences Alan looked for a job with butterflies but by this time had been exposed to the cruelty of hunting with hounds, vivisection, using marine mammals in captivity and a million other animal related problems. Alan volunteered for the Hunt saboteurs association and became a national committee member. He went on to volunteer for many animal welfare charities while running his own company making scientific instruments. In 1988 he set up International Animal Rescue and British Divers Marine Life Rescue two registered charities. In 1999 Alan decided to leave his job behind and work full time for IAR, he has been the CEO of IAR for the past 20 years and is also chairman of BDMLR.

Both charities are based in the same building owned by IAR in East Sussex.

Alan was awarded an OBE in the Queens Birthday honours in 2006 for his outstanding contribution to animal welfare, this came as a total shock to Alan as he had spent the majority of his life attacking the royal family for their hunting activities. He was also called a silly arse by Prince Philip at a royal reception which Alan considers to be as impressive as receiving the OBE!