Mamikon Ghasabyan The start of the controversial road through Shikahogh Zoom In

'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.

Mamikon Ghasabyan Construction of the road through Shikahogh about to commence Zoom In

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?

Mamikon Ghasabyan On 10 June, the coaltion and media visited Shikahogh to observe the situation first-hand Zoom In

The protests

In March 2005, a representative of the Armenian Society for the Protection of Birds (ASPB), a local NGO who are working with BirdLife on Armenia's Important Bird Area Programme, joined a WWF-initiated trip to the project site. The visit revealed that bulldozers had been massed with the intention of clearing the line and crossing the reserve. 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 legally undertake was released as late as 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 31 May, 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.