BirdLife International, UK
July 1 2005

‘SOS! Shikahogh’: the road to nowhere
01-07-2005

1 June 2005: the President of Armenia signs a decree to build a 90km
highway through the pristine Shikahogh Nature Reserve.

9 June 2005: the decision is cancelled!

Plans by the Armenian Government to build a second 90km highway
leading to the Iranian border through the pristine Shikahogh Nature
Reserve, have brought together Armenian communities from both sides
of the border in an unprecedented conservation effort.

Shikahogh Nature Reserve
The flora and fauna of Shikahogh have not been comprehensively
catalogued due to the reserve’s isolated location, mountainous
terrain, and poorly developed road system. The reserve, particularly
the centuries-old Mtnadzor Forest, is a primordial and relict forest
habitat that has remained completely untouched down the centuries.
Shikahogh is home to 1,100 species of plants including many which are
endangered and endemic, as well as a variety of rare animals
including leopard, moufflon and bears.

The diverse habitats within the reserve also support rich avifauna.
>From recent field observations, over 130 species of birds are
currently known to occupy the reserve and surrounding areas. Over
twenty-two raptors have been recorded in the reserve, including the
globally threatened Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca. Caspian Snowcock
Tetraogallus caspius occurs at high elevations while Caucasian Black
Grouse Tetrao mlokosiewiczi finds shelter in the upper tree limits of
the Forest Reserve.

The highway project
A project planned by the Ministry of Transport and Communications to
build a highway from Kapan through Tsav to Shvanidzor would cross the
Mtnadzor section – the heart of the Shikahogh State Reserve,
resulting in the mass destruction of this unique ecosystem. Moreover,
it would clear the way for poachers, loggers and other illegal
commercial activity. The officially-sanctioned logging aimed at
removing a 16.6 km long and at least 30 metre-wide swathe of
Shikahogh, cutting its most well-preserved section, Mtnadzor Forest,
in two.

The construction of the road through Shikahogh was in full
contradiction with all ratified conventions and international
agreements that Armenia has become signatory to, such as UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change, UN Convention on Biodiversity, UN
Convention to Combat Desertification and the European Convention on
Landscape, ratified by the Republic of Armenia. Needless to say, it
violated the Law of the Nature Reserve itself and broke national laws
on Specially Protected Areas and flora and fauna.

Land-locked and blockaded economically, Armenia depends on the bulk
of its imports to come through Georgia and Iran. The latter makes up
approximately ten per cent of the country’s imports, and the existing
road is the only one leading to the Iranian border – keeping the
southernmost communities of Armenia connected with the rest of the
world.

In winter and spring it is barely accessible and offers dangerous
passage to traders. It could be justifiably argued that construction
of the road makes sense strategically, the question being how and at
what cost?

The protests
In March 2005, a WWF-initiated trip to the project site with a
representative of the Armenian Society for the Protection of Birds
(ASPB) revealed that bulldozers had been massed with the intention of
clearing the line and crossing the reserve. (ASPB are working with
BirdLife Inernational on Armenia’s Important Bird Area Programme.)
The decree to launch the construction had been signed and ratified by
the President, without the relevant permissions obtained from the
Ministry of Nature Protection. Meanwhile, the Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) that the government had to undertake came forth only
in May. When the picture became clearer, the Armenian WWF Caucasus
Program initiated public appeals to halt the destruction.

A coalition of environmental NGOs including ASPB staff worked
together to save the reserve and established a `SOS! Shikahogh’ Force
Task which spearheaded further counteraction against the
developments. On May 31, a group of independent experts drawn from
the Ministry of Nature Protection, two organisations including ASPB
and the Armenian Forests NGO, a local forestry expert (a local
caretaker for the Zangezur IBA) and the planners hired by the
Ministry of Transport, were canvassed to examine the route proposed
by the government and identify alternatives. The expert study
revealed that the estimated damage to the forest from the road
proposed by the government would amount to a staggering 136,085
trees, which translated financially to over 13 million U.S. dollars.

Consequently, two alternate routes were proposed to the government,
who staunchly continued with their plans and signed a decree to begin
the construction through Shikahogh. The coalition of organisations
claimed that the government pursued other motives, targeting profit
from timber sales. The Armenian Transport and Communications
Minister, Andranik Manukyan, declared in an interview with the Radio
Free Europe that the road through Shikahogh would be constructed
irrespective of the conclusive proofs produced by the assessment.

“If they refuse to accept any of the proposed alternatives then the
road is not the real issue. The plan for a ‘strategic’ road is simply
to get at the forest and the wood. Governmental officials say that
the highway has strategic importance but none can explain why they
have chosen this way through the reserve.” – Karen Manvelyan, Director
of WWF in Armenia

On June 10, ASPB visited the Shikahogh reserve with a large
delegation of WWF staff, environmental organisations including the
Armenian Tree Project and Armenian Forests NGO, independent
journalists and other media representatives, to observe the situation
first-hand and run an expert study of the three alternative routes.
The situation remained unchanged and the government-backed road
builders continued with their preparations. In the heat of the
dispute an adult Imperial Eagle soared high above the protesters, a
poignant symbol of the what was at stake.

Meanwhile, the growing public movement created an extensive wave of
support and the wide media coverage finally forced the government to
suspend construction for at least 15 days. The National outcry to
save the Shikahogh Nature Reserve had united all NGOs into a
coalition never previously experienced in Armenia.

Mamikon Ghasabyan
Environmentalists fought an unprecedented campaign to protect
Shikahogh’s magnificent forests
Zoom In
The victory
On June 17 the coalition organised a hearing to allow the public an
opportunity to discuss the plans with government officials. ASPB
footage of Shikahogh Forest was shown. The Minister of Transport and
Communications, Andranik Manukyan made an announcement that the road
through Shikahogh as originally planned by the government would not
be developed and an alternate route would be taken.

The coalition of organizations remained vigilant until the issue was
resolved and the official decision was made. The voice of the public
was heard: on 29 June 2005 the government ratified a decree to begin
construction of road circumventing the Nature Reserve. Shikahogh had
been saved and the unstinting efforts of those who stood up in
defence of the People’s Forest were rewarded, an unprecedented event
in the history of Armenian conservation.

Luba Balyan (Armenian Society for the Protection of Birds)

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress