The World Wildlife Federation’s bi-monthly newsletter was published today.

Topics covered:

* Shikahogh
* Environmental Awareness in the Media

Among others.

As my last ever post on Blogrel, finally some good news. Under unprecedented pressure from environmentalists in Armenia and individuals and organizations in the Diaspora, the government has backed down. Shikahogh is saved. A truly remarkable precedent has been set that will hopefully result in people standing up to the government when they try to circumvent the law and the constitution in the future. Writing for Hetq Online, Tigran Paskevichyan, puts it simply.

I am sure that the cooperation between Armenian NGOs and experienced, respected Diaspora Armenians will not end here, because it is time to put a stop to the government’s hostility toward society, their placing of the interest of the state over that of society, thereby infringing the rights of the possessors of that state, the people.

Mtnadzor is unique as a virgin forest but it is not unique as an event in which a group of officials turns public property and national treasures into objects of sale. It happened in Haghtanak Park when they cut down all the trees to build a hotel; it happened in the park near the Opera House when they poured concrete on the green areas and turned them into cafes; it happened with Northern Avenue, when along with people’s huts and cottages they destroyed buildings that were historical and architectural treasures. Now it’s about to happen to Komitas Park and the Pantheon, which they want to move, in order to use the land for public and private construction.

In every one of these cases, ordinary citizens and non-governmental organizations were alone in the struggle against the authorities, and they were defeated. Their defeat, however, was not a disgrace for them, but for the government who paid a disgraceful $14,000 to the owners of the houses they demolished in the center of Yerevan , a sum too small to buy an apartment on the outskirts of town.

I am sure that the experienced, respected Diasporans see and understand all this, and, having lived all their lives in democratic countries, they know that oppressing society and silencing public opinion never works in the long run. They know that the state, so long dreamed of, is stable and safe when negative processes are noticed right away, talked about, and put an end to.

These Diasporans have demonstrated their patriotism though their actions, and in doing so, their love for their homeland has grown stronger.

http://www.hetq.am/eng/society/0506-diaspora.html

Real change in Armenia will only happen when more and more people stand up and demand that the law functions and their rights are protected. The next flash point will come when the constitutional ammendments are put up for referendum towards the end of the year. The Council of Europe have already demanded that the government implement real changes to the constitution and society will soon determine whether the government’s promises to do are genuine or not.

Anyway, more coverage of Shikahogh and the imminent constitutional ammendments is available over on my blog at http://onnik.blogspot.com.

Bulldozer, Siunik Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian

According to ArmInfo, and contrary to what was reportedly said at this morning’s public meeting on Shikahogh, the Minister of Transport and Communication, Andranik Manukian, has said that an alternate route around the Shikahogh Nature Reserve has now been adopted by the Government.

The minister said that the alternative road will be 7 km longer and 150 meters higher of the project of the highway proposed by ministry of Transport - Meghri-Shvanidzor- Verishen-Tsav-Kapan. The alternative road will pass by the forest reserve via the village Shishkert. According to preliminary data, its construction will cost $20 mln.

It’s hard to say whether this is genuine as the tendency has been for the government to say one thing, wait for people to forget and then press on with what they wanted to do in the first place. Still, at least the Minister has a sense of humor.

The minister said that decision on alternative project was not made under pressure of ecological public organizations. “It is a decision of the government and instruction of the president.” Moreover, he stated that the role of public organizations, their numerous protests, was equal to naught in this decision.

Yeah, right…

Still, if they do go ahead with the alternate route and need to raise a few extra bucks, perhaps they could start with taxing the oligarchs. Hell, even Andranik Manukian has something to give back to the country. The Hotel Metropol was, allegedly, just one of his businesses in Armenia.

Don’t forget to check out my new blog for more on Shikahogh.

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.

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Environmental Public Alliance of Armenian NGOs organizes a Public Forum to discuss the expediency of passage of the freeway through Shikahogh reserve and possible alternatives.

Participants of the Forum will include representatives of the National Assembly, President’s Office, Government Ministries, academia, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, etc.

Public Forum will take place on Friday, June 17, 2005 from 10:00-13:00 at the American University of Armenia, 5th Floor Conference Hall, 40 Baghramyan Street, Yerevan.

— from armenianforests.am

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Mtnadzor, Siunik Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian

The Environmental Public Alliance of Armenian NGOs has organized a Public Forum to discuss possible alternatives to the construction of a highway through the Shikahogh nature reserve and Mtnadzor forest. The Public Forum will take place on Friday, June 17, 2005 from 10:00-13:00 at the American University of Armenia, 5th Floor Conference Hall, 40 Baghramyan Street, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia.

For background information on the campaign to save the Shikahogh nature reserve and Mtnadzor forest please click here.

Despite government assurances that construction of a new road connecting Agarak to Kapan via a protected nature reserve would be suspended for 15 days while alternate routes are surveyed, work still continues, Siunik Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian.

Carolyn Mugar, founder of the Armenian Tree Project and Executive Director of Farm Aid, sitting alongside the current Agarak-Kapan Highway, Siunik Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian.

After posting news that the Armenian government is continuing to construct the new and contraversial road from Agarak on the Iranian border to Kapan in Armenia, an item from ArmenPress.

Clearly, the Armenian government has misled the public and the media.

GOVERNMENT DECIDES TO HALT CONSTRUCTION OF ROAD THROUGH UNIQUE FOREST RESERVE

KAPAN, JUNE 8, ARMENPRESS: A cohort of top government officials, including deputy energy minister, nature protection and transport ministers and territorial minister traveled Tuesday to Armenian’s southern Shikahogh reserve, the planned site of a new highway, the authorities want to build to have a short and safe road to neighboring Iran, but ecologists warn once the road is built it would endanger one of the country’s three pristine forest reserves.

The new highway is planned to take a route across the Mtnadzor Forest that covers a third of the Shikahogh reserve in southern Armenia. Established in 1958, the reserve is inhabited by rare and endangered plants and animals. Ecologist say at current rates of cutting, the last of the forests could be gone in as little as 20 years, saying also that Armenia’s forest areas have drastically reduced from 40 percent of the country to around eight percent.

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Representative of the Armenian branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) points out part of the planned new route © Onnik Krikorian

After literally having just returned from a three day visit to the Shikahogh Reserve in the southern most Siunik region of Armenia, I thought I’d post some immediate impressions and information before sorting out some of the photos for posting on Blogrel tomorrow. The trip was organized by Armenian Forests, the Armenian Tree Project and the World Wildlife Fund who were accompanied by representatives from other environmental NGOs and film crews from ArmNews and Yerkir Media TV.

Both will be airing news stories on TV tomorrow and Yerkir Media TV should also be putting together a documentary film.

Carolyn Mugar, founder of the Armenian Tree Project and Executive Director of Farm Aid in the US, was also on the trip. Hopefully, she will take new details about the campaign to find an alternate route for the road to the American-Armenian Diaspora this week. Until then, an update:

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, the government has said that all construction has been suspended for 15 days until alternate routes are surveyed. However, this is not true. Construction is going on in three locations including one that leads up to the Mtnadzor forest. This means that regardless of the outcome of the reported Environmental Impact Assessment — and whatever is said during the Public Hearing scheduled for Friday — the government has NO intention to consider new routes.

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I’ve just come back from a casual meeting with some of those locals and Diasporans working to prevent the construction of a road through the Shikahogh Nature Reserve in the Siunik region of Armenia. According to news they’ve heard today, the government is now going to “legalize” the construction of the road by changing Shikahogh’s status from a “nature reserve” to a “national park” which allows construction to be carried out on its territory.

Unfortunately, however, the danger in Armenia is that once even a little illegal construction is “legalized” by changing the law or paying a “bribe,” it’s only a matter of time before entire territories are destroyed. We’ve already seen this with the parks in Yerevan and in the case of Shikahogh, many allege that the main motivation for building the road through the reserve is so that one government minister in particular can sell the timber cut from the huge number of trees felled.

More will be revealed next week when those NGOs and organizations involved in attempts to save the reserve will be at their most active before the government finally holds a public hearing on their plans next Friday. Other news is that tomorrow morning I will be going down to Shikahogh and hope to report more when I return on Sunday. In the meantime, please browse Blogrel’s postings on Shikahogh and consider sending an email, letter or fax to the relevant government Ministry.

Because it is now alleged that the President will change the status of Shikahogh to a “national park,” can I also suggest that in addition to sending letters to the Ministry of Nature Protection and Ministry of Transport and Communication that you also send something to the President’s Office. For those outside of Armenia, bombard your local Armenian Embassy with telephone calls, faxes and letters.

Incidentally, the Armenian Tree Project have issued an urgent action on Shikahogh at http://www.armeniatree.org.

A coalition of environmental NGOs has been established in an effort to prevent the destruction of the Shikahogh nature reserve in the Siunik region of Armenia. The coalition comprises the Armenian Tree Project, Armenian Forests, the World Wildlife Fund and the Armenian Assembly of America. A press release has already been issued.

According to news reports, the plans call for cutting at least 14,000 old growth trees and 90,000 younger ones. The Shikahogh reserve, established in 1958, is home to innumerable rare and endangered plant and animal species, including up to 12 leopards, whose habitats would be gravely threatened by the road’s construction and the ensuing traffic pollution.

[…]

The Armenian government has cited “strategic” reasons for choosing the route through the reserve, but hasn’t provided adequate justification for the plan, which would violate numerous national laws and internationally signed treatises to protect such nature preserves, which are widely regarded as part of a national heritage.

Incidentally, I think that the Center for Regional Development / Transparency International is also involved with the coalition as plans to build the road not only violate many national and international laws but also, I assume, the government’s obligation to consult with local communities first.

For more information on how you can be involved in attempts to save the nature reserve please access this page for where to send emails and letters in Armenia and the US. For past links, information and comments on the Shikahogh reserve posted on Blogrel click here.

ArmInfo reports that the Minister of Environment has promised to resign if an alternate route that bypasses the Shikahogh Nature Reserve is submitted but not accepted by the Government.

RFE/RL reports on the controversial decision to construct a highway through a nature reserve situated in the south of the country. Typically, the Armenian government is currently conducting an environmental impact assessment of the project but has made it clear that it will ignore its findings.

Environmentalists say that the new highway could bypass the reserve but allege that senior government officials instead stand to gain financially from logging on the territory of the reserve. According to them, it is this that is guiding official policy. Shikahogh can probably be considered a last stand in attempts to prevent further deforestation in Armenia.

Shikahogh is Armenia’s second largest forest reserve, occupying some 10,000 hectares of land. According to Manvelian, it has been largely unaffected by Armenia’s massive post-Soviet deforestation due to its remote location and care shown by residents of nearby villages.

Only 11 percent of the country’s mountainous territory was covered with forests in 1991. That proportion now stands at below 8 percent, mainly due to commercial and mostly illegal logging. The process has been greatly facilitated by lax government controls and corruption. Some environmentalists warn that if the current trends continue Armenia could be left without any major forests by 2024.

The RFE/RL news item can be read online here and links to other information including articles, letters from the Armenian Assembly of America and the World Wildlife Fund as well as the email addresses of key government ministries can be found here.

Following on from an earlier post by Hovakim on the Shikahogh Reserve and articles by Hetq Online and Armenia Now, I was recently sent the following two open letters by the Armenian Forests NGO.

The first is from the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) and addressed to the Armenian President, Robert Kocharian.

In addition to the ecological devastation that will be visited upon the preserve, the reputation of the Armenian government will be harmed as well. The national and international communities will perceive the Armenian government as having no respect for its own environmental laws or the international conventions and treaties it has ratified. Moreover, if Armenia does not demonstrate responsible management of its natural and historical heritage, it weakens its ability to protect Armenia from the impact of destructive policies in neighboring countries.

The second is from the Armenian representative of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and is intended for international as well as local consumption.

The Governmental officials persist that the highway has a strategic importance, but none of them can explain why they have chosen the way through the reserve. In our opinion, the Government can introduce changes in the project, avoiding the reserve and taking an alternative way, as it has been suggested by WWF and other organizations.

Click on the “more” link to read the letters and if you want to make your feelings on this subject known to the government and play a part in preserving Armenia for future generations, email the Ministry of Nature Protection at iac@mnpiac.am and the Ministry of Transport and Communication at mtc@mtc.am.

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Hetq Online has published more on the subject of the Shikahogh nature reserve in Armenia’s southern most Siunik region that is now threatened by plans to build a road through it. Hovakim recently blogged about the project and Armenia Now also published an article as well.

Nobody is saying that given Armenia’s regional isolation that new transport routes aren’t necessary but after speaking to a Diasporan environmental activist here, the reality is that it appears that there are better and more cost effective routes for the road to take. If that really is the case then it’s obvious that the project is also being used by someone to make some money from felling what little trees we have left in Armenia and exporting them abroad. This is corruption in the sphere of the environment that we’re well used to but the problem is that in 20 years there will be no forests left in Armenia.

Anyway, decide for yourself from the above links and if you feel inclined, register your concern by emailing or faxing the Ministry of Nature Protection (something that is now almost an oxymoron in Armenia).

Arminfo reports here that the project to build a highway through one of only two nature preserves in Armenia is gaining speed.

Press Secretary of Ministry of Transport and Communication Tamara Galechian informed ARMINFO, only the possibility of construction of a highway passing by the reserve was discussed with specialists of the Ministry of Nature Protection. Galechian informed that the Ministry of Transport considered irrelevant the construction of a road according to the project proposed by the Ministry of Nature Protection. The latter increases the length of the highway by 19.5 km and has 20 sharp turns, she said. At the same time, as Director of the information-analytic center of the Ministry of Nature Protection Lev Haroutunian informed ARMINFO, the ministry of transport and communication of Armenia has approved the project of construction of a high-way passing by the Shikahogh reserve. According to him, it was informed during Monday regular sitting at the Ministry.

I wonder if anyone in the media community has looked at this project, which looks funny. The cost is budgeted at 20 million dollars for a 30km segment of a road, too high by Armenian standards. May it be that the Transport Ministry is cutting the cost at the expense of the nature to simply appropriate the money?