ArmInfo.A memorandum on the protection and reproduction of wild animals will be signed between Armenia and the UAE next Wednesday, Acting Minister of Nature Protection Erik Grigoryan informed today at the meeting of the RA Government, answering the question of the Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on measures to restore the Caucasian leopard population.
According to Grigorian, representatives of the environmental departments of the two states have already done some work in this direction.
Representatives of the UAE have gained considerable experience in the protection and reproduction of wild animals, and their knowledge and experience can be useful for Armenia. The Acting Minister stressed that the presence of a Caucasian leopard population in the Khosrov Reserve testifies to fairly well-formed ecosystem. It is especially important, Grigoryan continued, to restore the Caucasian leopard population, since it is the last major representative of the cat family in the region. In turn, Nikol Pashinyan called for more control over the habitat of the animal. He drew the attention of the head of the RA Police Valery Osipyan to the need to intensify the fight against poaching.
To recall, the Armenian government announced the 2019 as the Year of the Caucasian Leopard. "It is planned to hold a series of events – to issue a postage stamp on the theme of the Caucasian leopard, to organize an international conference, to make a documentary film on biodiversity, to organize an exhibition," the acting minister said at the end of December at a cabinet meeting. Last year, for the first time, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) filmed on the territory of the Khosrov Forest Reserve a rare Caucasian (Asian) Leopard, which is included in the Red Book of Armenia and the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. This species is under threat of destruction. Currently, 7-9 leopards are recorded in the Ararat, Vayots Dzor and Syunik regions of Armenia. Since 2002, the Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia has been implementing a program for the protection of this species, its task is to preserve the range, to increase the population of animals, including by preserving the species that the leopard hunts – bezoar goats and Armenian moufflon.