SHIKAHOGH RESERVE SAVED

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| 14:07:09 | 17-06-2005 | Social |

The RA Government has decided to reconsider the idea of constructing a
road through the Shikahogh reserve. Today Transport and Communication
Minister Andranik Manoukyan announced about it during the discussion of
the matter. The discussion was organized in the American University
and besides non-governmental organizations, representatives of the
Government, the NA and ecological organizations were invited.

The highway connecting Armenia with Iran will probably be constructed
passing around the reserve. As a result of it the highway will become
longer for 7 kilometers. Now it will run 96 km instead of 89.

“Today a Committee has been created which will give the economic and
technical basis of the road”, announced Andranik Manoukyan. Minister
of Environment Vardan Ayvazyan who had also arrived at the discussion
added that because of the additional 7 kilometers many problems
arise. So he called the non-governmental organizations to help solve
the financial and technical problems with the same enthusiasm with
which they struggled for the Shikahigh reserve.

By the way, the members of the Government hinted that they have made
the decision not because of the pressure of the non-governmental
organizations but proceeding from strategic reasons. The participants
of the discussion were angry at the remark. The Ministers of Transport
and Environment, answering several questions, complained that they
were not aware of the question-answer process. So the Ministers
preferred to leave the discussion.

Nevertheless, representative of the non-governmental organization
“Forests of Armenia”, lawyer Nazeli Vardanyan said, “There is not
a single official decision and we do not know how the road will be
constructed”. So, the participants mentioned that the non-governmental
organizations must continue the struggle.