50th ANNIVERSARY OF FOUNDATION OF "KHOSROV FOREST" PRESERVE TO BE CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER

Noyan Tapan

Au g 29, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The 50th anniversary of foundation
of "Khosrov Forest" Preserve will be celebrated on September 13. The
director of the preserve Samvel Shaboyan said at the August 28 press
conference that a number of events will be held in this connection:
the preserve’s tourism center in Garni site will open on September 9,
and the opening ceremony of a museum in the administrative building
of the preserve will take place on September 13.

According to him, the Kosrov preserve was founded with the aim
of preserving the animal and plant world and ensuring the natural
reproduction. The preserve currently occupies a 29,196 ha area in
Ararat marz. There are 1,849 vascular plants species in the preserve,
80 of which are included in Armenia’s Red Book, as well as 283 animal
species, including wolf, lynx, and such animals included in the Red
Book as brown bear, bezoar goat, Armenian moufflon and Caucasian
leopard.

Speaking about the recent press publications that there was allegedly
a fire in the preserve, A. Shaboyan said that the fire broke out
2-3 km from the forest, near Karmir Sar. In his words, the fire was
caused by a thunder-storm on August 21. He said that 300-400 people
took part in the work to put our the fire and this work lasted 4
days. "Everything possible was done to prevent fire from reaching
the preserve boundaries, and we succeeded," he stated.