On Friday 17 June, a public hearing on plans to build a highway through the Mtnadzor forest and Shikahogh nature reserve will be held at the AUA in Yerevan. It will probably prove to be the last stand against the disregard of laws relating to the environment in Armenia and if it fails, as one Diasporan activist remarked this weekend, the country will end up as a desert when there are no more forests left in twenty years time.

Because of this unfortunate reality, I am posting a link to a Macromedia Flash presentation on Shikahogh that is smaller than it should be because of the time it takes to produce but as time is not on our side… As I said, if you care about preserving the environment of Armenia for future generations, please send an email to your local Armenian Embassy or even telephone them. In Armenia, send your concerns to the relevant government ministry.

If Shikahogh and Mtnadzor are lost, there is no hope for the rule of law in Armenia. If, however, they are saved then a precedent has been set for both local Armenians and those in the Diaspora to influence positive change and development in the repubulic. If you value the importance and necessity of this, please act now.

The work in progress can be downloaded from here.

Coincidentally, a few minutes before typing in this blog entry I received the following from the Armenian Tree Project:

URGENT ACTION ALERT: SAVE THE PEOPLE’S FOREST

We are urgently asking for your assistance. The Armenian government has plans to build an interstate highway through the Shikahogh Nature Preserve near the Iranian border. This preserve is one of only three untouched forests in Armenia and is home to many rare and endangered species of plants and animals whose habitat would be irreparably damaged by the proposed road. It is considered to be a primordial, ice-age forest, with some trees as much as 500 years old.

As we write bulldozers are waiting at the border of the preserve. They should have started their work two weeks ago but because of the efforts of an environmental coalition, of which ATP is a member, and a public outcry by Armenians in the homeland and the Diaspora, Shikahogh has won a few weeks’ reprieve.

This forest is a national treasure and is the heritage of the Armenian people. We must do everything we can to save Shikahogh–the People’s Forest–for future generations. We need to make sure that this road is not built through the preserve but takes an alternate route and that the Armenian government does not change the designation of this forest from PRESERVE to NATIONAL PARK, which would allow more roads and commercial activity.

Please take action today, by joining Carolyn Mugar in sending a letter to the Armenian government.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT THE SHIKAHOGH NATURE PRESERVE.

Here is a real opportunity to do something positive in Armenia and it doesn’t take money. It just takes people to finally raise their voices and make a stand for the rule of law and public participation in society. When that happens, everything else falls into place.