Shikahogh State Reserve ( hy, Շիկահողի արգելոց) is

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

’s second largest forest reserve, covering some 10,330 ha of land, and located in southern Armenia in the

Syunik Province Syunik ( hy, Սյունիք, ) is the southernmost province of Armenia. It is bordered by the Vayots Dzor Province to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic exclave to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. It ...

. Environmentalists have said it has been largely unaffected by Armenia’s massive post-

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

due to its remote location and care shown by residents of nearby villages. The Shikahogh State Reserve is home to about 1,100 species of plants, 70 of which have been registered in the Red Book of Armenia and 18 in the Red Book of the Soviet Union. The fauna of Shikahogh has not been fully explored, but studies have already revealed rare species of animals such as

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

bezoar A bezoar is a mass often found trapped in the gastrointestinal system, though it can occur in other locations. A pseudobezoar is an indigestible object introduced intentionally into the digestive system. There are several varieties of bezoar, s ...

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the No ...

snowcock The snowcocks or snowfowl are a group of bird species in the genus ''Tetraogallus'' of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are ground-nesting birds that breed in the mountain ranges of southern Eurasia from the Caucasus to the Himalayas and we ...

, viper, and

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introductio ...

Highway controversy

Shikahogh is the only place where the forest remains intact. It is home to unique species considered to be the wealth of not only Armenia but the whole world as well. According to Social-Ecological Association Chairwoman Srbuhi Harutyunyan, trees in Mtnadzor were not logged only because they were beyond reach, but in this case the Mtnadzor forests are facing the threat of logging. “Countries lacking in natural raw materials are eyeing our natural raw materials, and this is the only preserved unique forest, which is very dense and very useful and one can prepare various things from the raw material available here,” says Artemis Lepejyan, the Chairwoman of the Saint Sandukht Women’s Union. “The whole policy consists in the fact that they are ready to spend millions on this road, because they will make billions on it.” Artemis Lepejyan, the Chairwoman of the Saint Sandukht Women’s Union

References

External links

Shikahogh State Preserve - Armeniapedia.org

''SOS Shikahogh''
a 2007 documentary by the

Armenia Tree Project Armenia Tree Project (ATP) is a non-profit organization based in Watertown, Massachusetts, United States, and Yerevan, Armenia, founded in 1994 by Carolyn Mugar to promote Armenia's socioeconomic development through reforestation. Since its foundi ...

{{Protected Areas of Armenia Tourist attractions in Syunik Province Protected areas of Armenia Forests of Armenia

Highway controversy

See also

References

External links