Syunik

The first in a series of environmental films produced by Vem Media Arts in Yerevan has been released. The 23-minute documentary film on the movement to save the Shikahogh Nature Reserve in southern Armenia was funded by Armenia Tree Project, Armenian Forests NGO, and the World Wildlife Fund Caucasus Office. The government announced a plan in 2005 to build a highway to Iran right through the middle of the old growth Mtnadzor forest, which occupies about half of the Shikahogh Reserve in Syunik. The 10,000 ha reserve is home to innumerable rare and endangered plant and animal species, whose habitats would have been gravely threatened by the project. Earlier that year, World Wildlife Fund documented the presence of a small number of endangered Caucasian/Persian leopards living in the reserve. Written by Inga Zarafyan and directed by Nikolay Davtyan, the film tells the story of a coalition of local and international NGOs, educational and scientific organizations, and individuals—including Armenia Tree Project, Armenian Forests NGO, World Wildlife Fund, American University of Armenia, and Armenian Assembly of America—who worked with the Diaspora to urge the government to consider alternatives to the proposed route that would do less environmental damage. info@vem.am

• published: 23 Jun 2009
• views: 1085