Armenian Environmentalists Want to Find Out Reason for Felling Dozens of Rare Oaks in Syunik Reserve

Despite the claims to the contrary by the Armenian Ministry of Nature, the local population of the Syunik province insists that a large number of rare Caucasian oak trees were cut down in the Shikahogh State Reserve to be used as a building material, for cognac barrels in particular, and that there are certain circles who are behind the act, the Pan-Armenian Environmental Front (PAEF) reports, pointing out that one such oak barrel costs about 1200 euros on the international market.

PAEF reminds that the Arminfo news agency reported back in 2016 that nearly three dozen oak trees had been cut down in the Shikahogh Reserve; the Nature Ministry, however, soon refuted this information concerning the felling of rare trees, claiming that a general tree-felling had been legally carried out on a territory belonging to the Artsakhantar non-trade organization, in accordance with the legislation of Nagorno-Karabakh.

A commission made up of PAEF representatives and other concerned parties has recently visited the site of the felling and found out that it is located at the junction of the borders of the Shikahogh State Reserve and the Republic of Artsakh. “We took the coordinates of the stumps of the felled oaks, of other unfelled but numbered trees, of timbers scattered in the woods, and of crawler-tracked dirt roads. A further comparison of these coordinates by the Zangezur Biosphere Complex revealed that the works had indeed been conducted on the administrative territory of the Republic of Armenia,” the PAEF statement reads, stressing that there is still a need for a detailed and extensive research, since these fellings can still affect other territories of the Shikahogh reserve.

PAEF proposes to promptly find out the administrative affiliation of the coordinates provided by the commission, to look into and publish the results of the 2015-2017 spring and autumn inspections in the territory of the Shikahogh reserve, to detect and inventory all Caucasian oak trees that have been felled in the territory of the reserve, and, if possible, to find out the exact year of their felling. PAEF also suggest inventorying all unfelled Caucasian oak trees and strengthening measures to guarantee the protection of the Shikahogh reserve, especially in areas bordering the Artsakhantar non-trade organization.