Kavkazsky Zapovednik

No. 39 Summer 2005

In this issue: • Special Section Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia • Ten Years of “March for Parks” in Russia • A Historic Park on the Shores of the Black Sea

PROMOTING BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN RUSSIA AND THROUGHOUT NORTHERN EURASIA CONTENTS CONTENTS

Voice from the Wild (A letter from the editor) ...... 1 Lake Sevan: Lessons in Nature Use...... 26 A Victory for Shikahogh Reserve...... 30 PROTECTED AREAS Researching Forest Raptors Reflections on the Beginning on Armenia’s Highest Peak ...... 32 of March for Parks...... 2 Changes in the Diversity March for Parks Celebrates Ten Years in Russia...... 4 of Waterbird Species in Select March for Parks 2005: Reports from the Field ...... 5 Important Bird Areas in Armenia ...... 34 Yuzhniye Kultury Dendrological Park: Research and Conservation A Historical Treasure of the Persian Leopard in Armenia...... 37 on Russia’s Black Sea Coast...... 8 Altaisky Zapovednik Finds an Unexpected Ally ENDANGERED SPECIES in Russia’s Federal Space Agency...... 11 Results of Latest Survey Show NGO NEWS Tiger Numbers in Russia Stable ...... 39 Working for the Environmental Safety Dedicated Conservationist Pioneers Effort of Rocket and Space Activity...... 13 to Save Russia’s Aleutian Canada Goose...... 41 Civil Society, Environmental Organizations, and Putin...... 17 CONSERVATION HISTORY Kseniya Golgofskaya Celebrates Fifty Years in CONSERVATION IN THE CAUCASUS: Kavkazsky Zapovednik ...... 42 SPOTLIGHT ON ARMENIA “Protection of Nature is Protection By Way of an Introduction...... 19 of the Fatherland” ...... 46 Landscapes and Biodiversity in Armenia: An Overview...... 20 ABSTRACTS IN RUSSIAN...... 49 Armenia Tree Project Beginning to Fight Deforestation Threat...... 23 CONSERVATION CONTACTS ...Back Cover

The mission of the Center for Russian Nature Conservation Russian Conservation News is produced with support from many (CRNC) is to promote the conservation of nature in Russia and wonderful conservation-minded people! We could not do our throughout the former Soviet Union, and to assist conservation work without you! Special thanks to: the Critical Ecosystem groups in that region through information exchange, coordina- Partnership Fund, Oak Foundation, Cynthia Barakatt, Ronald tion of professional and education exchanges, and provision of Beavers, Martin Farrell, Nancy Hopps, Mary Anne Mekosh, Ivan technical assistance to protected areas. CRNC is a project of the Mina, Philip Pryde, Jonathan Sachs, Hunter and Lois Staley, John Tides Center. Tollefsen, Thomas Van Pelt, William Wasch, Douglas Weiner, and Andrea Williams and Chas Dewey.

RCN has many partners and friends in Russia, including the Partnership for Zapovedniks, whose mission is to offer organizational, technical, and financial help to zapovedniks and national parks in Russia.

Summer 2005, No. 39 Russian Conservation News Voice from the Wild (A letter from the editor)

s this issue of Russian Conservation News goes to press, the 8th World A Wilderness Congress (WWC) has just ended in Anchorage, Alaska. Delegates from around the world gathered there to share experiences, methods, and ideas for conserving the world’s remaining tracts of intact EDITORIAL BOARD wilderness. More than ever, I remain convinced of the importance of the Executive Editor: Margaret Williams legacy of Russia’s zapovednik system. No other country in the world has any- Assistant Editor: Melissa Mooza thing like it. Few people know about it. Fortunately, the WWC agenda included a panel of presenters who spoke about the Russian Far East and its pro- Managing Editor: Natalya Troitskaya tected areas, but I feel that these presentations only scratched the surface in Graphics Artist: Maksim Dubinin presenting the values and opportunities for conservation in Russia. Thus, Design and Layout: Design Group A4 once again, I ask you, our readers, to continue to lend your support to RCN; Computer Consultation: Natalie Volkova to share the news (good and bad) about conservation in Russia and Northern Translation: Melissa Mooza Eurasia; and to do what you can to support the many dedicated conservationists working in the region. Subscriptions Manager: Sarah Millspaugh

Contributing Authors: K. Agababyan, T. Akatova, In this issue of , we put a spotlight on one of the great strongholds of L. Balyan, L. Boichenko, A. Bryukhanov, RCN T. Bryukhanova, I. Chebakova, M. Ghasabyan, biodiversity in Northern Eurasia: the Caucasus region. Straddling Europe and D. Gordon, L. Grabenko, V. Grigoryan, Asia, the Caucasus, which incorporates parts of four former Soviet states, as H. Harutunyan, R. Hovhannisyan, well as Iran and Turkey, serves as a biogeographic bridge connecting the two R. Hovhannisyan, I. Khorozyan, M. Kochinyan, S. Krichevsky, A. Malkhasyan, N. Margarian, continents’ dramatic landscapes and remarkably rich biodiversity. In this J. Masarjian, R. Melkonyan, Z. Mkrtchyan, M. Mooza, thirty-ninth issue of Russian Conservation News, we offer a profile of a coun- G. Oganezova, S. Popova, J. Sohigian, M. Williams, try at this special region’s very heart: Armenia. This ancient land, which is D. Woods, and I. Zarafyan. widely known for its rich culture and history, is also a hotspot of biodiversity Contributing Artists and Photographers: and endemism. K. Agababyan, V. Ananian, V. Antonova, K. Avanyan, N. Gerasimov, H. Ghazaryan, V. Gorchakov, Y. Gorshkov, H. Harutunyan, A. Khismatulina, Perhaps one of the most important messages coming out of the World S. Krichevsky, D. Kuchma, G. Lachinian, D. Laurens, Wilderness Congress is the need to recognize success. Conservationists today A. Malkhasyan, B. Mooza, I. Nikitina, M. Novikov, are bombarded with tremendous challenges, and we often feel daunted by G. Oganezova, A. Popov, C. Santore, I. Shpilenok, N. Troitskaya, A. Troitsky, and I. Zaichenko. what sometimes seem to be insurmountable challenges. So, while our extensive special section devoted to Armenia will acquaint you with some of the Acknowledgement: Maps of Russia’s protected areas that are featured in this issue were prepared urgent conservation challenges facing this small nation, such as deforestation using the Protected Areas GIS database of the and the unsustainable use of Lake Sevan’s water resources, we also bring you Biodiversity Conservation Center/International news of an exciting and inspiring effort underway in the country. This is the Socio-Ecological Union. For more information, please Armenia Tree Project, which is preserving Armenia’s forest resources by com- consult http://oopt.info/gis/database-eng.html bining reforestation efforts with community development activities, yielding real results and transforming landscapes and lives across Armenia. In other ON THE COVER good news, we share with you a triumph of grassroots activism, which helped secure the fate of one of Armenia’s strictly protected areas, Shikahogh Reserve.

Rounding out this issue is a pair of encouraging reports on two species that are highly endangered in the Russian Federation: the Aleutian Canada goose and the Siberian tiger. Thanks to the dedication of committed conservationists and a concerned public, the status of these species is increasingly stable and gives us at RCN cause for hope.

Finally, history figures prominently in this issue of RCN. We share with you unique materials compiled and adapted from an exhibit on the involvement of Russia’s protected areas and the Moscow Zoological Park in World War II. We also acquaint you with one of the elder stateswomen of Russia’s protected area system, Ksenya Golgofskaya, whose lively reminiscences reflect on fifty years spent working in Kavkazsky Zapovednik. In this issue, we celebrate two other milestones marked. March for Parks, a now ubiqui- tous movement to draw public attention to Russia’s protect nature areas, recently celebrated its tenth annual campaign, while an interesting program The Orenburg steppe, in Russia’s southern Urals of the International Socio-Ecological Union to advocate for the ecological region. Cover drawning by A. Khismatulina, a safety of rocket and space activity just completed its fifth year of work. fourteen-year-old participiant in Orenburgsky Zapovednik’s 2005 March for Parks Celebration.

Summer 2005, No. 39 1 Protected Areas Protected Areas

Reflections on the Beginning of March for Parks

By Margaret Williams

he early 1990s were a heady time T for protected areas in Russia. Although chaos reigned and uncer- tainty prevailed in the post-Soviet re-organization of government, it was a time when anything seemed possible, new ideas were welcome, and the only limits to action were attitude and time. I had the opportunity to be living in Russia during this period and will never forget the excitement of the times. One of the highlights was the introduction of a new event in Russia, one which was entirely experimental, yet ten years later has become a matter of course for Russia’s federal protected areas. This is the March for Parks. In its ten years, March for Parks has reached such heights as Elbrus, Europe’s highest peak. It all started when, having been living Photo provided by Alaniya National Park. in Russia for nearly a year, I returned to the U.S. for the Christmas holidays in and national parks were facing a fiscal coordinator yielded a better picture of December 1994. While poring through crisis. They were fast realizing that how the March could work. NPCA mail that awaited me, a small ad in the their future, politically and financially, generously provided pamphlets, stick- magazine National Parks, a publica- could not depend on the same old ers, pins, and brochures on results of tion of the National Parks Soviet structures and approaches previous events in the US. Conservation Association (NPCA), that once kept them going. With caught my eye. “March for Parks!” it neither traditional subsidies nor out- Armed with these materials, I returned called out to readers, inviting side sources of support to replace to Russia in January 1995, and shared American citizens residing near them, the zapovedniks and parks them with my colleagues from the national parks to organize events that faced a bleak future. It would now Biodiversity Conservation Center would raise money and help build sup- be necessary to cultivate a group of (BCC). Irina Chebakova, one of the port for their parks. The concept of sympathetic local businessmen and group’s experts on parks and protect- this sort of “march” is a familiar one in regional authorities and to establish a ed areas, was taken with the idea of a the U.S.: participants find sponsors to basis of local support — local schools. Russian “March” and we decided we commit some amount of money in How to go about doing this was not would float the concept to our closest advance of a walk, hike, or other ath- exactly clear, and zapovednik man- colleagues in the Russian parks and letic event. Sponsors may commit ten agers hotly debated the role of their zapovedniks. We made our own cents, a dollar, or any amount for each nature reserves — traditionally closed Russian-language brochure to share mile traversed, each meter ascended, to the public — in outreach to their the idea with these colleagues, each lap biked, etc. The end result is a fellow citizens. emphasizing the opportunity to raise grassroots campaign that yields funds, their protected area’s profile and a higher profile for the cause at hand, Having not been aware of the March improve its public image. (We didn’t and a greater sense of engagement for Parks event (although I had think the fundraising element should in the issue by those who have been worked as a volunteer and interpretive be stressed in Russia, especially in involved. ranger in two US parks), I was rural areas, where the economy was in intrigued by the idea, and wondered tatters and efforts to solicit funds Back in 1994, just a few years after whether we could try it in Russia. could work against the parks.) We perestroika, Russia’s zapovedniks Several calls to NPCA to a most helpful printed up stickers, and made up

2 Russian Conservation News Protected Areas packets of materials, including some with Earth Day on “March for Parks” T-shirts and pins, the third Saturday and began to send them out to those in April, Irina and I zapovednik and park managers who began to hear agreed to launch this experimental about some of the effort. creative events that park and zapoved- In the days before reliable express mail nik managers had services delivered throughout Russia, held. In Samarskaya we made use of friends, who served as Luka National Park, couriers. We also frequently employed in the Samara the services of friendly train conduc- Region, on the mid- tors, who, for a nominal sum, would dle reaches of the ensure the safe arrival of our materials. Volga River, Boris Since its inception, March for Parks has always attracted great inter- Irina made quite a few phone calls to Roschevsky had est among children. Photo provided by N. Troitskaya. Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, organized a bus Petrozavodsk, and other cities, to trip for journalists to visit his park and clean-up at a zakaznik, or special pur- notify a colleague about meeting a they generated so many articles in the pose reserve, located within the city’s particular car of a particular train in local press that an effort by regional limits. order to retrieve a March for Parks leaders to downgrade the federal park package. to a regional protected area was By 1997, nearly all of Russia’s federal stopped. In Bolshaya Kokshaga protected areas were participating in One of the most enthusiastic support- Zapovednik, in Mari El Republic, March for Parks, and news of the ers that first year was Losiny Ostrov Svetlana and Alexei Popov held a movement traveled by word of mouth National Park, just on the outskirts of round table discussion for officials in to other countries, including Central Moscow. Leaders of that park went the region, developed a partnership Asia, where protected areas joined the wild with the idea, organizing all kinds with a school in Yoshkar-Ola, and initiative. I was thrilled and surprised of events: folk dancing and music; held a massive event for young people to see an article in a Tajik newspaper games and contests; kite-flying; and a — one which still continues today. about a March for Parks event that designated “march” of friends and More and more stories filtered in, all took place there. In 1999, I learned allies from a nearby metro stop to the of them positive, and all of them that even on the remote Commander park’s entrance! Hundreds of people examples of local people turning out Islands off of the coast of Russia’s showed up, not only from the conser- to enjoy and support their park or Kamchatka Peninsula, local children vation community, but also from local zapovednik. were participating in a March for Parks neighborhoods. It was the most excit- drawing contest held by BCC. ing grassroots event in which I’ve ever The following year, Irina and the been involved. Biodiversity Conservation Center went Gradually, word about the initiative into full gear to broaden participation traveled to Western Europe, where Within days following the first Russian in March for Parks. We found additional Russian colleagues shared the idea of March for Parks, held in conjunction sponsors inside and outside of Russia, March for Parks with counterparts in and printed up Germany and elsewhere. I am not cer- hundreds of T- tain whether it has taken hold there, shirts, stickers, and but I do know that the well-known flyers for parks to Swiss-based Rolex Awards for environ- share with their mental achievement learned of Irina’s supporters. That outstanding organizational efforts and year, more than 50 recognized her with an international parks and prize. zapovedniks took part in the event. Today, March for Parks continues in NGOs launched Russia and varies according to the indi- March for Parks vidual leaders and managers at each events in other protected area. It is a great pleasure to areas, too. For remember those early events, and to example, in read about the creative activities that Moscow, BCC held continue to take place, some of which During the Soviet Era, large-scale public demonstrations were carried out twice a year – in honor of the Great October Revolution and a rally and the are mentioned in this issue of RCN. Victory in World War II. Now, thanks to March for Parks, people turn Laboratory for out in great numbers to support Russia’s zapovedniks and national Ecological Designs Margaret Williams is the Editor of parks. Photo provided by N. Troitskaya. organized a major Russian Conservation News.

Summer 2005, No. 39 3 Protected Areas

March for Parks Celebrates Ten Years in Russia

By Irina Chebakova

ne of Russia’s most popular O nature conservation celebrations ever, March for Parks, celebrated its tenth anniversary this spring. For us, this anniversary makes the year 2005 a special one. It is a year for assessing what the March for Parks phenome- non has become for Russia’s conservation movement and what it meant to those of us who gave it life a full decade ago.

In Russia, March for Parks began in 1995 at the Moscow-based environmental organization, the Biodiversity Conservation Center (BCC). At that time, the preliminary phase of the Global Environmental Facility’s (GEF) “Biodiversity Conservation” Project was being prepared and the problems facing Russia’s protected areas were March for Parks still marching along after ten years. being examined. These problems Photo provided by N. Troitskaya. included the lack of adequate funding, ous activities in almost all regions of opportunity to learn more about pressure on natural resources, and a Russia: rallies, conferences, ecological Russia’s protected areas and its lack of understanding among local games and quiz-bowls, volunteer work national heritage, and to make a per- communities and the public at large in the protected nature areas, and sonal contribution to supporting about why zapovedniks and national round table discussions with represen- these territories, with money, partici- parks are created and what purpose tatives of the media and local govern- pation in events, and unpaid volun- they serve. It became clear that we ments. tary assistance. The March helped would not be able to resolve these zapovedniks and national parks estab- problems and prevent new ones until In the first year of the March, zapoved- lish regular contacts in their regions we involved the public in their resolu- niks, national parks, and several NGOs with local governments, the press, and tion, until we won society’s support carried out twenty local marches, in business circles. Youth — both school for our cause, and until we were able which close to 5,000 people partici- children and university students — to prove to the government that pated. After that the March grew became an appreciative audience and zapovedniks and national parks increasingly. By 1999, close to 250 teachers and pedagogues, our reliable should be financed not at 30% of their local Marches were conducted in partners. needs, but at a full 100%. But how which more than one million people would we achieve these ambitious participated. The campaign has Having carried out the March for Parks goals? retained that scale to this day. for ten years, zapovednik and national Annually, hundreds of regional news- park staff have developed their own The March for Parks nature conserva- papers and television and radio pro- approaches and methodologies for tion celebration called upon all seg- grams spotlight March activities. Over establishing dialog with the public and ments of society — business, the the ten years that the March has been have steadily built on their successes. media, state organs, and local commu- conducted, sponsors—primarily nities — to unite around the idea of Russian entrepreneurs, businessmen, Irina Chebakova worked for several supporting our specially protected and commercial and industrial enter- years at the Biodiversity Conservation nature areas. The goal of the March is prises—have contributed significantly Center in Moscow, where she was one to win public support for the zapoved- more than $1,000,000 to the zapoved- of the original coordinators of Russia’s niks and national parks. Now the cam- niks and national parks. March for Parks celebration. She is a paign has turned into a traditional member of The World Conservation spring nature conservation festival What does March for Parks give peo- Union’s World Commission on which constitutes a multitude of vari- ple? Above all, it gives each person the Protected Areas.

4 Russian Conservation News Protected Areas March for Parks 2005: Reports from the Field

Note from the Editors: This spring Russian Conservation News editors contacted many of Rus- sia’s zapovedniks and national parks with the request that they send us accounts of their activities during March for Parks 2005. From protected areas nationwide, we received numerous dispatches, photographs, and examples of artwork. We chose several interesting and vivid excerpts from a small selection of reports and share them with you below. The Biodiversity Conservation Center’s March for Parks 2005 logo.

Kavkazsky Zapovednik reserve staff told their captivated audience about the bison and their (Sochi, Krasnodar Krai) behavior. They also shared with This year, for the first time since Kavkazsky Zapovednik them pictures and illustrations of has been participating in March for Parks, the reserve the animals and showed a video involved pre-school aged children its March activities. The called “Bison.” One of the zapovednik organized a thematic arts and crafts contest zapovednik’s educators for children at five nursery schools. The competition even donned a focused on the mountain bison, which is Kavkazsky plush bison calf Zapovednik’s symbol. The contest’s goal was both to costume and involve the youngsters in the March and to offer them the posed riddles opportunity to learn more about Kavkazsky Zapovednik to the children and its animal inhabitants. about some of its “neighbors” The contest’s little participants were instructed to depict living in the the bison in various conditions and circumstances. But in reserve. The order to execute their drawings and applique` work, the youngsters took children first had to become more closely acquainted with genuine delight the animals. With this goal in mind, staff of the reserve’s in socializing environmental education division arranged and delivered with the “bison interesting lessons at the pre-schools. During these lessons, calf” and vied for the opportunity to hold him by the “hoof.” A “bison calf” from Kavkazsky Zapovednik awarded prizes to pre- With their parents’ school-aged winners of an art and help, the children crafts contest held in Sochi during imaginatively March for Parks. Photo by A. Popov. depicted bison by using not just crayons and paints, but also colored string, modeling clay, construction paper, and even semolina. There was no limit to the children’s creativity! Participants received prizes at a special assembly, where the “bison calf” awarded certificates to the lucky winners. Teachers at the nursery school are confident that this special March for Parks event is one that their wee wards will remember for a long time to come.

This drawning by Irina Zaichenko, Yulia Rusinova, Vera Antonova, Text prepared by the Environmental Education Division of and Mikhail Novikov, all children at Kindergarten No. 166 in Sochi, Kavkazsky Zapovednik. took first place in the March for Parks art contest.

Summer 2005, No. 39 5 Protected Areas Khakassky Zapovednik (Abakan, Republic of Khakassia) March for Parks has been carried out in the Republic of Khakassia since 1997 and Khakassky Zapovednik has served as the initiator and primary organizer of the celebration in this south-central Siberian republic. With each passing year, the reserve acquires new experience in conducting the March and plans increasingly diverse events and attracts more and more participants. March for Parks participants at work It would be impossible to report on all of our March for Parks activities in one short dis- distributing information about patch. But as just one example from this year, on April 13, 2005, in order to draw resi- Khakassky Zapovednik in Abakan, in dents’ attention to March for Parks 2005, specialists from the zapovednik’s the Republic of Khakassia. Photo pro- Environmental Education Division and teenagers in bright uniforms rode through one of vided by Khakassky Zapovednik. the busiest parts of the city of Abakan in a colorfully decorated bus. The bus stopped in the most peopled areas and its passengers distributed posters, calendars, booklets, and information about the zapovednik and its activities. City residents happily entered into discussions with the zapovednik’s educators, displaying great interest in nature protection issues in the Khakassia Republic, in the zapovednik, and in March for Parks. Many of them then participated in subsequent events that the reserve implemented and some became supporters by providing various types of assistance.

The President of the Republic of Khakassia and the National Foundation “Strana Zapovednaya” provided much assistance to March for Parks 2005. The “Russky Aluminium” Company, the closed joint stock company “Tonnelnyi Otryad Number 22,” and the “Medved” Advertising Agency came forward as associate partners of the event. It can be said with confidence that March for Parks has become traditional and successful in the Republic of Khakassia.

Text prepared by the Environmental Education Division of Khakassky Zapovednik.

Volzhsko-Kamsky Zapovednik others. The children gathered in the main assembly hall for a concert program prepared by school- and pre-school aged (Raifa, Republic of Tartarstan) children. Then winners of the art contests were awarded In 2005, for the first time in the ten years that Volzhsko- valuable prizes for the best drawings, compositions, and Kamsky Zapovednik has been involved in March for Parks, all poems. All in attendance enjoyed viewing a film about the events revolved around the Raifsky House of Culture in the zapovednik shown on the big screen. village of Belo-Bezvodnoye. Spring’s late arrival did not allow event organizers to hold events around the zapovednik’s Next, the remaining contests began. They were all conducted headquarters as usual. in an informal and sometimes even rowdy atmosphere. The children competed to be the first to identify different local On April 23, when the main events were carried out, it was riparian fish species, which were on display. Many of the chil- very sunny and participants were in fine spirits. Close to 250 dren demonstrated excellent knowledge of primrose plants students, all eager participants in March for Parks, gathered in (Primulaceae spp.). The children not only identified them by the local House of Culture. Interesting children’s drawings, photographs, but were also able to speak about which plants compositions, and poetry, which the children submitted for a are rare and in need of protection. The children also gave a special March for Parks contest, adorned the building’s interi- good showing in the contest “Whose tracks are these?” and or and created an atmosphere that was all at once celebrato- particularly enjoyed the computer game “Animal Population ry and business-like. Upon entering the building, every child Count.” sought out his or her own creation and compared it with All of these contests were intended to deepen the children’s knowledge about local nature and to foster in them nature conservation-oriented thinking. The event’s organizers believe it was successful in doing so. Furthermore, none of the children who participated in the contests left without prizes and positive feelings. The culmination of the event was a visit for the younger students to the zapovednik’s dendrological garden and museum.

The day’s happenings did not take place without media attention. The “Efir” television broadcast company from the city of Kazan aired a report on March for Parks on the Republic’s local television station.

“March” activities organized by Volzhsko-Kamsky Zapovednik Text prepared by the Environmental Education Division of captivated enthusiastic children in the village of Belo- Volzhsko-Kamsky Zapovednik. Bezvodnoye, in the Republic of Tartarstan. Photo by Y. Gorshkov.

6 Russian Conservation News Protected Areas

Bolonsky Zapovednik (Amursk, Khabarovsk Krai) March for Parks has become a traditional celebration in the land of the Amur River. Spring came late to the region this year. Although foul weather thwart- ed our plans to conduct a proces-sion and mass demonstration in the city of Amursk – both have also become traditional for the reserve during the March – we accomplished no less than in previous years.

Our “Life without Garbage” campaign was a resounding success. As part of this “March for Parks” participants rest at the end campaign, participants from various schools in the city took part in a thematic discussion, “The Amur Needs Protection.” They also viewed a documentary film of a job well done. Photo by I. Nikitina, about ecological problems in the Russian Far East called “What Legacy Are We Bolonsky Zapovednik. Leaving?” Armed with new knowledge and emotions, the children really threw themselves into an activity to pick up garbage along the Amur’s shore, which ended up being a genuine investigation. The children broke up into groups of two and three and as they gathered trash, they filled out a form that inventoried and tallied the various types and quantities of litter.

Back in their classrooms, the children warmed up with some tea and pies, and engaged in a heated discussion about what they had just seen. The students marked the most littered territories on a map and analyzed what typed of garbage they encountered most often, how it might have ended up there, and what should be done to keep the Amur River’s shores cleaner in the future. The children were full of ideas and suggestions, including writing a letter to the city’s mayor about the need to take measures to defend the Amur’s shores from the disposal of unsanctioned construction waste. The local television company “AMV” filmed the day`s events and broadcast the program on the city’s public television channel.

Text prepared by the Environmental Education Division at Bolonsky Zapovednik.

Zyuratkul National Park (Satka, Chelyabinsk Oblast) Every year, with the coming of spring, we expectantly await one of the great celebrations for Russia’s protected nature areas: March for Parks. This year, the celebration began on April 1 with the traditional “Bird Day.” Many outstanding events followed, including: the “Clean Shore” activity, during which school children cleaned up trash on the shore of Lake Zyuratkul; the “Heart to Heart” awareness campaign on the Ufa-Chelyabinsk highway; the “I live on this Earth” celebration, held in the village of Sibirk; various children’s competitions; and a journalistic press tour.

The “Heart to Heart” campaign, which took place on April Young participants in the “Heart to Heart” campaign inform driv- 22-24, was a new one for us and proved very successful. ers along the Ufa-Chelyabinsk Highway about Zyuratkul National School children prepared for the campaign in advance by Park. Photo provided by Zyuratkul National Park. attending discussions about forests and the need to protect nature. They also prepared reports and drawings and wrote Obelisk, a local monument. Much to the drivers’ surprise, compositions. Then the most “advanced” students pre- they did not receive fines or citations, but instead listened pared reports about how people should conduct them- to children speak about the campaign’s goals and also selves in nature. They also printed flyers, and prepared received flyers, postcards, and booklets about Zyuratkul booklets, postcards, drawings, and photographs depicting National Park. The children’s lighthearted enthusiasm was Zyuratkul National Park. With these handmade materials, transferred literally “heart to heart.” Drivers drove off with as well as balloons and banners, the children took to the a small remembrance that every person plays a role in pre- “Ufa-Chelyabinsk” highway, one of the major arteries run- serving nature, while the children were left believing that a ning through the Ural Region. living planet will be saved and that humanity will find harmony in it. At designated tuck stops and rest areas, the children distributed flyers and promotional booklets about the nation- Text prepared by Aleksandr Bryukhanov, Director of al park, sang songs, and told people about the park’s nature Zyuratkul National Park, and Tatiana Bryukhanova, and natural landscapes. An inspector from the State Head of the park’s Environmental Education Division and Inspectorate for Traffic Safety stopped cars at the Staka Coordinator of March for Parks.

Summer 2005, No. 39 7 Protected Areas Yuzhniye Kultury Dendrological Park: A Historical Treasure on Russia’s Black Sea Coast

By Lyudmila Boichenko, Svetlana Popova and Rita Melkonyan

uzhniye Kultury Dendrological Eduardovich Regel designed the proj- Y Park is a verdant paradise and an ect, curiously without actually ever hav- exceptional work of garden art. This ing seen the territory or visited this cor- federally protected park is located in ner of land along the Black Sea. A the city of Adler, in southern Russia’s German horticulturist by the last name Krasnodar Region, where it is situated of Grabbe led efforts to divide the park along the eastern coast of the Black into districts and to plant vegetation, Sea, at Imertin Bay. Here, natural con- while an Austrian horticulturalist by the ditions create an almost greenhouse- last name of Skrivanik lovingly tended like atmosphere, which is exceptional- and cared for all plants brought to the Adler is home to Yuzhniye Kultury ly favorable for the rapid growth of park. Until his final days, Skrivanik cod- Dendrological Park. Map by M. Dubinin. plants, including sub-tropical plants, dled the plants and protected them of which there are both local species from foul weather. He pruned and fer- and mirror-like, blue surface of the sea and those that have been imported tilized them and observed their growth are also visible. Extensively dispersed from other countries. Yuzhniye and development. According to wishes paths open up astonishing views for Kultury Dendrological Park is one of expressed in Skrivnik’s will, this self- visitors. And no one part of the park the five best known parks on the sacrificing person was buried on the resembles any other! Black Sea coast. Although its plants are park’s territory. slightly less biologically diverse than Two ponds, which are closely linked to those in other parks, Yuzhniye Kultury All of nature’s finest creations were the territory’s main path, play an Dendrological Park surpasses the oth- planted around the estate residence, of important role in the park’s composi- ers in its architectural layout and course with consideration for the tion. Both were man-made. The first design. region’s climactic particularities. Plants was created from a widened natural of the most diverse kind were received brook; it is situated at the foot of a The park was created almost a full from specially-set aside plots in the slope framed by hedges of radiant century ago, upon the initiative of nurseries of one Prince Oldenburgsky. pine. The second pond is small with Danil Vasilievich Drachevsky, a general greenish water and a thoughtful and in the Imperial Army and the Vice- The park was not open for visitation lonely appearance. In its still surface, Governor of St. Petersburg. until after the 1917 revolution, when Italian cyprus (Cupressus Drachevsky wanted to decorate the the Soviet government acquired sempervirens), Deodar cedar (Cedrus territory around his estate in Adler, Drachevsky’s estate and opened its deodara), olive (Olea europea), and which was called “Sluchainoye” splendid dendrological park to the oleander (Nerium oleander) are [Translator’s note: the word public. Since then, generations of resi- reflected. Next to the pond, the park’s “Sluchainoye” means fortuitous in dents of and visitors to Russia’s open zone, or parterre, is located. English]. According to legend, renowned Sochi resort area have [Editor’s note: the term parterre Drachevsky won the plot of land in a enjoyed the park. describes a flower garden, the beds of card game some time between 1903 which form a pattern] and 1905. More likely, though, he had Landscape architect Regel successfully received the property through a land used the territory’s natural relief and The parterre is the main part of lottery. After the Sochi Region had beauty and incorporated vistas of the Yuzhniye Kultury Dendrological Park. been established as part of the sea and mountains into the park’s Ancient Egyptians and Babylonians Chernomorskaya Guberniya (Black composition. The majority of the widely used this particular style of gar- Sea Province) in 1896, this naturally park’s territory is flat, with only its den design. In the seventeenth and rich but remote province of the eastern section being located at a eighteenth centuries, the parterre Russian Empire needed to be settled, small elevation. In the upper part of became a sight of interest in French and by the early twentieth century, the park, a palm-lined path was creat- palace ensembles and parks. They land near Sochi was not only sold, but ed, as were various types of raised soon became fashionable in Russia as also issued by lottery. beds. Large green beds with beautifully well and were also widely adopted in blossoming shrubs and trees create the other European countries. The main part of the park was estab- impression of an open free expanse. A lished over an area of twelve hectares view on the central part of the garden In the parterre, everything is arranged during the period 1910-1912. Russian zone opens up from the panoramic according to strict geometric princi- park-landscape architect Arnold square, from which the nearby beach ples. The space is strongly framed and

8 Russian Conservation News Protected Areas a bright green lawn, which is divided by a narrow path into two different parts, occupies most of it. Pruned bas- kets of box tree (Buxus sempervirens) and euonymus (Euonymus sp.) and symmetrically arranged flower pots create a realm of harmony and order. Parterres are usually laid out in front of a beautiful building. In this case, the composition was completed by an open pergola arbor, entwined with kudzu (Pueraria hirsuta). Tall conifers and magnolia trees create a green set- ting around the open space. A master of park design attempted to create the impression of a large green massif here. To achieve this, he widely used a technique of the illusory removal of open expanses and perspectives, by planting evergreen and plants with silver and light blue-colored leaves. Unfortunately, the plantation of conif- erous species, which was located in Numerous paths invite visitors to stroll through the park’s grounds. Photo by A. Troitsky. several rows along the edge of the territory and which provided for the Soviet botanical scientists began tak- the pool. During warm periods of the defense of the interior plantations, ing particular care of the park in 1924. year, aquatic plants are planted in was not preserved. Natural cataclysms They created new green corners and them. From June to October, the water destroyed this green curtain. replenished the collection of rare and surface of the pool transforms into a beautiful plants. In 1935 the dendro- multi-colored carpet of blossoming The pride of the old park was the path logical park was given the name water lilies (Nymphaea sp.), lotus leading toward the sea. Although it is “Yuzhniye Kultury.” During 1937- (Nelumbo sp.), water hyacinth only 400 meters long, the path seems 1938, the newest part of the park was (Eichornia crassipes), and cyperus to stretch on endlessly. This effect was created, where unique plants, which (Cyperus sp.). In the past, visitors to created by the successful combination had been brought from sub-tropical the park loved to be photographed at of two tree species, planted on both regions, were gathered. With that the pond, with its rare aquatic plants, sides of the path. High above head addition, the park’s territory expanded including a true botanical wonder, the level, the crowns of broad-trunked to its present area of 21.5 hectares. Giant water lily (Victoria amazonica), sycamores (Platanus sp.), with their the leaves of which can grow up to whitish bark, close in on dark thin In the 1950s, work to improve the seven feet in diameter. They also tulip trees (Tulipa sp.). The trees lining park was launched. A new rose-garden enjoyed boating on the neighboring this path are now significantly thinned was planted and framed by a boxtree pond, among the white and black out, as gale-force winds blowing in hedge, which at one time was main- swans that gracefully swam alongside from the sea have uprooted several tained in the topiary style. This them. hundred-year-old sycamore trees. recalled Italian gardens in the Middle Ages, although the rose garden ended In the 1970s, the park’s “green treas- with an Italian garden pergola, which ury” numbered more than 1,000 is no longer there. Paths were also dec- species, forms, and sorts of plants. Half orated with borders and flower beds of them comprised exotics from and a pool for warmth-loving aquatic China, Korea, and Japan. A collection plants was constructed. of plants from North America, Asia Minor, the Mediterranean, Himalayas, This artificial pool, which was Australia, New Zealand, and East Africa designed based on the plans of agron- was also presented here. Alongside the omist G. E. Brenneisen, has attracted “foreign imports,” “local residents” tourists’ attentions since it was created such as Georgian box tree (Buxus in 1952. The pool is not very deep. Its colchica), cherry laurel (Laurocerasus Although a rare sighting across Russia, such sides and bottom are covered in officinalis), and common yew also exotic settings are common in Yuzhniye cement, which helps the water retain stand out in their beauty. The majority Kultury Dendrological Park. Photo provided the warmth of the sun’s rays. Plant of plants are evergreens and conifers, by Yuzhniye Kultury Dendrological Park. pots with fertile soil line the bottom of and for this reason the park retains its

Summer 2005, No. 39 9 Protected Areas

the garden now generates income— and not only just to support itself. The German garden has a theater, an exhibit center, and a restaurant with excellent cuisine. It also has its own printing facility and creates attractive promotional materials such as album- style books and booklets. On the shore of the island’s Lake Boden, a yacht club was created. Annually, close to two million tourists visit the island and political, scientific, and nature conservation conferences are carried out there. Exhibits of original photography of flowers and plants from the “Garden for All” travel around the world.

Located on the Black Sea coast, Yuzhniye Kultury Dendrological Park has all the conditions to become an outstanding recreational center, which could be completely capable of sup- More then a half century ago, visitors to Yuzhniye Kultury pose by one of the park’s many porting itself. But for now, we can only wonder what fate awaits Yuzhniye small ponds. Photo from the archives of the Adler Regional Museum. Kultury Dendrological Park, this crum- green attire year round. Cheery colors recent years, tornados have ravaged bling cathedral, this monument of are also a regular sight, as plants blos- the park’s “green treasury” more than nature and history. som in the park throughout the year. once. In 1990, tornados damaged 720 exotic tree-shrubs, while in 2001, 620 Lyudmila Boichenko is an Fruit-bearing trees also grow in the trees and shrubs were destroyed. Environmental Education park. On warm May days, the golden Gigantic stumps still lying alongside Methodologist at Kavkazsky fruits of snow banana (Musa basjoo) the road recall the destructive activity Zapovednik. Svetlana Popova is a ripen in the park. In December, the of that tornado four years ago. free-lance journalist. Rita Melkonyan Japanese raisintree (Hovenia dulcis) is the Deputy Director of Yuzhniye offers a treat, its sweet and juicy fruit. Over the course of its existence, the Kultury Dendrological Park. Jelly palm (Butia capitata Весе) and park has suffered significantly and the Canary Island date palm (Phoenix appearance of parts of it has lost its canariensis) trees also offer edible esthetic value. This may be attributed fruits, albeit not very good tasting. The not only to the effects of harsh natural sub-tropical Japanese banana liu-kiu phenomena, or the natural aging of plant, which has become acclimatized trees, but also to a lack of funding. The in our region, also bears fruit, although park urgently needs reconstruction they are inedible. and this requires significant capital investment. Yet despite the fact that Misfortune unexpectedly befalls both Yuzhniye Kultury Dendrological Park man and nature. At five o’clock in the has the status of a specially protected morning, on June 8, 1983, a tornado nature area of federal significance, the swept across Yuzhniye Kultury Ministry of Agriculture does not allo- Dendrological Park and uprooted and cate funds for its maintenance. damaged more than 1,600 trees. The city’s residents efficiently worked Around the world, there are notable together to clear the park’s territory. cases of similar parks generating funds Dozens of local organizations also par- to support themselves. One particular- ticipated and contributed their equip- ly relevant example may be found on ment to the cause. The damage to the Germany’s Mainau Island. The island’s park saddened people terribly, but “Garden for Everyone” very much With more than 1,000 species registered, despite such destruction, it continued resembles our park. Created by Count the park boasts an extremely high diversity to bring pleasure to visitors. Like a Lennart Bernadotte, the son of Prince of vascular plant species. phoenix, it rose from the ashes. In Wilhelm of Sweden, many years ago, Photo by A. Troitsky.

10 Russian Conservation News Protected Areas Altaisky Zapovednik Finds an Unexpected Ally in Russia’s Federal Space Agency

By Melissa Mooza, with assistance from Vyacheslav Trigubovich

ltaiskay Zapovednik has forged an A interesting new partnership with Russia’s federal space agency, Rosaviacosmos. This spring the reserve contracted with the “Center for the Exploitation of Terrestrial Space Infrastructure” (Center), a commercial subcontractor to Rosaviacosmos. The Center, in its role of managing Russia’s terrestrial space infrastructure, monitors the drop zones for the waste stages of booster rockets launched Map by M. Dubinin. from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. [Editors’ note: Cosmodrome is a Each second stage booster weighs Russian term used to describe a space approximately twelve tons, and it is exploration center and rocket launch- estimated that the total weight of the ing facility.] southeastern Siberia. Over sixty per- fallen debris is close to 1,400 tons.3 cent of this drop zone, which is used Because the nature reserve occupies The Baikonur Cosmodrome is the old- for spent second stages of “Proton” more than half of the drop zone, it est and largest rocket launching facili- and other rocket boosters, is on the stands to reason that much of this ty in the world. It is located on the bar- territory of Altaisky Zapovednik. Over debris has fallen into the zapovednik. ren steppe of south-central one third (3,281 square kilometers) of Kazakhstan, unlike space launch facili- the zapovednik’s territory, including Under the contract concluded earlier ties situated on or near a coast. the southern part of Teletskoye Lake this year, Altaisky Zapovednik provid- Consequently, jettisoned lower, sub- (Russia’s second largest after Baikal), ed services to ensure safety on the orbital stages of booster rockets falls within the drop zone.2 zapovednik’s territory related to the launched from the facility fall on land. March 30, 2005, launch of an Because different launch corridors are There are no precise data on the vol- “ExpressAM-2” spacecraft from the used for different spacecrafts, there are ume of space debris that has fallen on Baikonur Cosmodrome. On the day more than seventy designated drop the reserve’s territory since the Soviet before the launch, staff from Altaisky zones across the territory of the Union first began using Proton rockets Zapovednik, the Center, and the Russian Federation and the Republic in 1965. However, during the period Institute of Water Ecological Problems of Kazakhstan1. One of these areas, 1974-1996 approximately 120 second (within the Siberian Branch of the Drop Zone No. 326, is located on stage Proton rocket boosters—many Russian Academy of Sciences) flew 5,181 square kilometers in parts of the with toxic residual propellants still on over the drop zone in an MI-8 helicop- Altai, Tuva, and Khakassia Republics, in board—fell into Drop Zone No. 326. ter provided by the Siberian Scientific-

With the majority of Drop Zone No. 326 located within Altaisky Zapovednik’s borders, it is not uncomon for jettisoned rocket stages to fall into the reserve’s tree-covered mountains. Photo by N. Troitskaya.

Summer 2005, No. 39 11 Protected Areas

The serene calm preserved in the reserve is sometimes broken by the thunderous roar of falling space debris. Photo by D. Laurens.

Research Institute for Aviation. The the two eight-ten hour flights by drop- Of his reserve’s new relationship with specialists on board conducted aerial ping supplies and fuel at the zapoved- Rosaviacosmos, Altaisky Zapovednik surveillance of the territory and nik’s most remote and difficult to Director Vyacheslav Trigubovich informed zapovednik staff and local access cordons. They were also able to offered the following: “Russia and residents living in nearby villages— conduct aerial surveillance of the other countries will continue to utilize there are about 300 people inhabiting reserve’s territory to locate poachers the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This is a the region—about the impending and other violators of the zapoved- reality we must live with. This use of launch. Once the specialists deter- nik’s protection regime. The flights Baikonur Cosmodrome will entail the mined that the drop zone was ready offered scientific value as well, as pollution of Altaisky Zapovednik in for the launch, they communicated reserve staff were able to observe ani- one way or another. The nature this to the Management Center at the mal populations, their location, and reserve could try to assert its rights vis- Baikonur Cosmodrome. density. The infrared recordings used a -vis the space agency, by quarreling to locate smoldering debris or fires with them, by bringing them to court Following the rocket launch on March may also provide more detailed infor- to sue for damages and compensation. 30, a second flight reconnoitered the mation about fauna in the reserve. If But a similar result can also be territory for fallen debris and forest regularly gathered, this data could achieved through positive and pro- fires, which are often caused by the become a part of the reserve’s moni- ductive collaboration. This is an excel- impact of scorching hot rocket stages toring, included in its Letopis, or lent example of just that.” slamming into the Earth. Specialists Chronicles of Nature. used special thermal imaging cameras Melissa Mooza is Assistant Editor of to record the territory and then com- Altaisky Zapovednik’s participation in Russian Conservation News. pared the data with similar recordings the March 30 activities satisfied Vyacheslav Trigubovich is the taken of the same area the day before. Rosaviacosmos’ expectations, and the Director of Altaisky Zapovednik. They found neither rocket stage debris reserve hopes a mutually beneficial col- nor fires. During this flight, specialists laboration with the space agency will References from the Institute of Water-Ecological continue and lead to additional safety- 1 Poluarshinov, Andrei. Internet Briefing Problems gathered water, vegetation, related activities for subsequent launch- with Russian News & Information and soil samples to be analyzed later es. This will be determined on a case-by- Agency Novosti. July 22, 2004. for the presence of the highly toxic case basis. In addition, the reserve is cur- 2 Krichevsky S.V. Ecologicheskaya politi- rocket fuel, heptyl. rently negotiating with Rosaviacosmos ka v sfere RKD i OOPT: analis situatsii regarding clean up of rocket debris and na primere raiona padeniya stupenei v In addition to ensuring safety in Drop contamination from its territory. In this Altaiskom zapovednike (Environmental Zone No. 326, these flights also work the reserve would serve not as an policy in the sphere of rocket and space enabled the reserve to conduct nature implementer but as a co-contracting activities and specially protected nature areas on the example of the drop zones conservation activities. Helicopter agency. Clean-up of these toxic contam- for the waste stages of booster rockets flights are expensive and, given the inants is highly specialized work, which in Altaisky zapovednik.), Zelyonyi mir, zapovednik’s financial constraints, a would require particular licensure, No. 12-13 (2001). rare luxury. For this reason, reserve expertise, and equipment not possessed 3 Ibid. staff maximized the utility of each of by the reserve staff.

12 Russian Conservation News NGO News NGO News

Working for the Environmental Safety of Rocket and Space Activity By Sergei Krichevsky

ocket and space activity1 has fuel with highly toxic components ease among people living in areas R made considerable positive con- continues and those using unsymmet- affected by rocket and space activities. tributions to the progress of mankind. rical dimethyl hydrazine, or heptyl, At the same time, however, these activ- pose the greatest danger. Military doc- Unlike other environmental problems, ities present an increasing threat to tors are well aware of the clinical those associated with rocket and humans and to the natural environ- effects that even low-dose exposure to space activities became clearly appar- ment, both in the Russian Federation the liquid rocket fuel, heptyl, has on ent and a subject of public discussion and in the world as a whole. humans. They have observed symp- only in the 1990s. In the Soviet Union, toms including liver damage, vegeta- Russia, and other countries, informa- Rocket and space activities contami- tive-vascular dystonia, myocardiodys- tion about the ecological problems of nate the Earth’s surface and near-earth trophy, stomach and intestinal disor- rocket and space activities was not atmosphere with spacecraft debris and ders, anemia, leukocytopenia, and available, and a number of state organs rocket fuel, both in liquid and solid hypo- and hyperthyroidism. People and rocket-space corporations cov- forms. Such contamination occurs on living near cosmodromes, drop zones ered up the dangerous impacts and the territories of cosmodromes, where for the waste stages of booster rockets, consequences of rocket and space spacecraft are launched; in “drop and along rocket flight trajectories, activity. zones,” where jettisoned rocket boost- who are chronically exposed to rocket ers fall; and also along rockets’ flight fuel, demonstrate similar symptoms. Yet, knowledge about the unfavorable trajectories, as toxic aerosols are gen- High-dose exposure is particularly impacts and consequences of rocket erated and released. In addition, con- harmful to children and fetuses. and space activity has been growing tamination can occur during the pro- Nevertheless, the military continues to since the 1990s, and leaders, profes- duction, transport, storage, and “uti- deny the evident causal links between sionals, and the public are now lization” of rocket fuel. exposure to toxic components of aware of the problem. Unfortunately, rocket fuel and the incidence of dis- however, the situation has not yet pro- On the territory of the former Soviet Union, now the Commonwealth of Independent States, the gravest consequences of rocket and space activity manifest themselves in the areas of its greatest intensity. This includes the areas of the Baikonur, Plesetsk, and Kapustin Yar Cosmodromes (located in south-central Kazakhstan, in Arkhangelsk Oblast in northern Russia, and in Russia’s Astrakhan Oblast on the banks of the Volga River, respectively), as well as their corresponding drop zones for waste booster rocket stages. These drop zones are situated in Kazakhstan and in close to twenty regions of Russia, among which are Arkhangelsk Oblast, Altai Krai, and the Republics of Altai, Tuva, Khakasia, and Sakha (Yakutia).

The widespread use of rockets (includ- Author Sergei Krichevsky pictured here in 1997 in a training simulator for the Soyuz space- ing conversion rockets), which run on craft at Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. © S. Krichevsky.

Summer 2005, No. 39 13 NGO News gressed to the point that policymakers have recognized priorities and implemented actions to ensure the environmental safety of rocket and space activity.

In Russia in 1993, lawmakers approved a federal law “On space activity,” which in theory provides for the environmental safety of rocket and space activities. However, Russia’s current “Federal Space Program” for 2001-2005 was prepared and adopted without broad discussion and without undergoing a mandatory state environmental impact assessment. This fla- grantly violated standing legislation, specifically articles 11, 12, 18, and 30 of the federal law approved in 1995, “On environmental impact assessments.” In addition, no money was allocated within the budget of the federal space program to insure against environmental risk, to properly dis- pose of contaminants, or to resolve socio-ecological and other problems in regions affected by the impacts and consequences of rocket and space activity (in Russia, this amounts to 20 of 89 federal subjects). This same history is now repeating with Russia’s Fallen space debris in Altaisky Zapovednik. Photo by I. Shpilenok (www.shpilenok.com). “Federal Space Program” for 2006-2015. activity, in the renewal of rocket-space professionally investigate problems technology, and in the introduction related to the negative environmental Political will is lacking. Individual of environmental technology and consequences of rocket and space activities and decisions, which are not other innovations. It also preserves activities. There is a radical gap in the secured by adequate “rules of the inherited problems, including a high realization and solution of human game,” by an international and state level of environmental contamination rights issues within the framework of strategy, or by necessary funding, will and the sector’s low level of economic the ecological threats of rocket and not be able to resolve this complicated efficiency. space activity. Public oversight of this problem. Furthermore, the absence of sphere is extremely weak. Projects and dedicated and adequate environmen- In Russia and elsewhere around the programs are being implemented tal policy is suppressing development world, there is a lack of independent without social and environmental in the sphere of rocket and space organizations and media outlets that impact assessments. Aerospace agen-

Fast Facts about the Environmental Threat Posed by Rocket and Space Activity: • Rocket and space debris and rocket fuel components contaminate more than 30 million hectares worldwide. • The problem affects numerous countries including Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, the United States, countries of the European Union, China, India, and Japan. The territory of the former Soviet Union, primarily Russia and Kazakhstan, are particularly affected. • Drop zones for the waste stages of booster rockets cover than 10 million square kilometers of terrestrial and marine area. • Rocket and space activity also pollutes near-Earth space. More than 3,000 tons of “space junk,” including spent satellites and other elements of technology hang over us. Large fragments exceeding 10 centimeters in size number close to 10,000, while there may be more than 3 million smaller fragments. • Every year, approximately 60 spent satellites disintegrate in dense layers of the atmosphere and fall to Earth. Information provided by Sergei Krichevsky.

14 Russian Conservation News NGO News cies and rocket-space transnational information and discussions about the “Hotspots” Identified corporations are initiating a new issue regularly appear in various mass by the “For the phase of the rocket and space race media, including in listservs, newspa- based on commercialization and pers, websites, and television and radio Environmental Safety heavy lobbying in political circles. programs. It has also participated in a of Rocket and Space number of scientific and public con- Activity” Program With awareness about the growing ferences, round table discussions, and ecological danger of rocket and space other fora. In addition, the program • Activities of the Plesetsk and activities increasing, I developed a has issued and contributed informa- Baikonur Cosmodromes have draft non-governmental public pro- tion to a number of publications on dangerous consequences for gram, “For the Environmental Safety of pressing issues related to the environ- the environment, including Rocket and Space Activity” in the sum- mental safety of rocket and space Altaisky Zapovednik, a large mer and fall of 1999, with active par- activity.2 part of which is included in a ticipation by Maria Cherkasova, the director of the Center for Independent Other priorities for the program drop zone for the waste stages Ecological Programs in Moscow. After include: monitoring the health of peo- of booster rockets (Drop Zone a lengthy agreement and revision ple and the natural environment in 326). process, the Council of the regions where rocket and space activi- • The implementation of projects International Socio-Ecological Union ty are carried out; conducting environ- to liquidate disarmed solid fuel (SEU) approved the program on April mental impact assessments of rocket rockets through incineration 24, 2000. [Note from the Editor: and space activities programs and threaten more than one million Established in 1988, SEU was the only projects; and developing foundations international ecological organization for national and environmental policy people in Perm, in the Urals; founded in the Soviet Union. Today, in the sphere of rockets and space and in Biisk, in Altai Krai. SEU serves as an umbrella group for activity. • The implementation of the diverse independent non-governmen- “Strela” project at Svobodnyi tal organizations and groups from sev- After five years, the Program is alive Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast in enteen countries. The union brings and well and very active. In April 2005, the Russian Far East and the together more than 10,000 people the Amur branch of the SEU and other construction of a new cosmod- representing a broad spectrum of environmental NGOs established a rome in Orenburg Oblast will environmental-related interests. In new social coalition, “For the addition to the “For the Environmental Safety of Svobodny likely increase the heptyl threat. Environmental Safety of Rocket and Cosmodrome,” in Blagoveshсhensk, in • Ukraine is implementing a dan- Space Activity” program, SEU imple- the Russian Far East. With the initiative gerous project in Brazil using ments a number of other targeted proof, and active participation by the “Cyclone-4” heptyl rockets, grams around diverse topics such as Program, similar coalitions can and which will lead to the contami- nuclear ecology and radiation safety, should be created in other regions, nation of new territories. chemical contamination and chemical particularly in those regions where safety, and ecology and children’s drop zones for the Plesetsk and • On July 14, 2005, the Russian health.] Baikonur Cosmodromes are located. government adopted the coun- In June 2005, the decision to create a try’s new Federal Space The “For the Environmental Safety of broad public collation “For the Program (for the period 2006- Rocket and Space Activity” Program Environmental Safety of Rocket-Space 2015) without first conducting aims to decrease the danger of rocket Activity” was adopted. Also during a state environmental impact and space activities for man, society, June 2005, Russian environmental assessment. and nature. This direction was new NGOs prepared and adopted two not only for SEU, but for other Russian important documents upon the • Making rocket-space activities and foreign NGOs as well. One of the Program’s initiative. Participants in the more environmentally sound, program’s priority goals is to con- scientific conference “Human Rights, above all by limiting and subse- tribute to the growing awareness Ecology, and Civil Society,” which was quently prohibiting the use of among government officials, profes- held in Ivanteevka, in the Moscow heptyl and other highly-toxic sionals, and the public at large about Region, on June 4, issued an appeal rocket fuel components, as well the environmental safety problems of concerning the impacts of heptyl fuel as by decreasing the number of rocket and space activity. In recent on humans and nature. (The appeal, drop zones and the territory years, the media has increasingly pub- called “The use of heptyl, a highly lished material exposing these dangers toxic rocket fuel, violates citizens’ that they encompass. and the “For the Environmental Safety environmental rights and threatens • “Ecologizing” the disarmament of Rocket and Space Activity” Program the Earth’s environment,” is available and conversion of rocket-space has played an active part in this online in Russian at: http://seu.ru/con- technology. process. The program has ensured that ference/ecopravo/geptil.htm). Shortly

Summer 2005, No. 39 15 NGO News

Space debris mars this wild landscape in the Arkangelsk Region. Photo from 2002 provided by Novaya Gazeta. thereafter, on June 28, Russia’s envi- the Union “For Chemical Safety,” the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training ronmental NGOs issued an open letter Center for Independent Ecological Center and prepared for flights on the “On the necessity of carrying out an Programs, as well as the Center for “Soyuz” and “Mir” spacecrafts. He cur- environmental impact assessment of Russian Environmental Policy rently serves as the Coordinator of the Russia’s draft Federal Space Program (Moscow), “Ecomuzei” (Karaganda, International Socio-Ecological Union’s (for 2006-2015).” (This letter is avail- Kazakhstan), and other organizations, Program for the Environmental Safety able online in Russian at: for their cooperation, assistance, and of Rocket and Space Activity. For more http://seu.ru/news_ru/index.html?x=5 criticism. information about the Program and its 717). activities, please consult Rocket and space activities are global http://www.seu.ru/programs/eng/cos- We congratulate all participants and in nature and they create global risks mos-e.htm. Additional materials are supporters of the Program on the fifth and new threats for man, society, and available in Russian at anniversary of its establishment. We the environment. We have just one http://www.seu.ru/programs/cosmos/. extend particular appreciation and path by which to resolve the socio- gratitude to those who were with us in ecological problems of rocket and © 2005 by Sergei Krichevsky. the beginning and who and continue space activity: to direct aerospace to actively participate in our work and trans-national corporations, organiza- 1 support us: Lev Fedorov, Maria tions, and specialists toward the “eco- Rocket and space activity is defined as activity that is directly related to the Cherkasova, Mikhail Shishin, and logicalization” of the rocket-space exploration and practical use of the Aleksei Yablokov. We recall the kind sector—in Russia and in other coun- Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. words of people who contributed to tries—by using the mechanisms of This activity is implemented using rock- our general work, especially those who civil society. We invite you to collabo- et and space technology, which com- are no longer with us: Vladimir rate and participate in the common prises ground segment, space assets and Lupandin (Moscow) and Viktor cause. technologies within their complete life Pakhomov (Altaisky Krai). We also cycle, including development, production, exploitation, elimination, and uti- thank all colleagues from NGOs in the Sergei Krichevsky, who was born in lization. regions and from Moscow for their 1955, is a candidate of technical sci- 2 collaboration, including representa- For further reading, the author recom- ence, an ecologist, a retired military mends Russian-language texts available tives of: SEU, the Amur Branch of SEU fighter pilot, and a retired test-cosmo- online at: http://www.seu.ru/pro- (Blagoveschensk), “Katun” and the naut. During the period 1989-1998, he grams/cosmos/press/ “Altai-21st Century” Fund (Barnaul), was in the cosmonaut squadron at the

16 Russian Conservation News NGO News Civil Society, Environmental Organizations, and Putin

By David Gordon July meeting in Moscow between through any channels. This does not Putin’s comments. Meanwhile, A Russian President Vladimir Putin have any relationship whatsoever to Vladimir Grachev, the head of the and NGO leaders has been the source ecology and culture.” It appears that Duma Committee on Ecology, used of much hand-wringing among civil Putin wishes to draw a line between the opportunity to criticize foreign society, the media, and environmental- charitable funding of environmental funding of environmental groups that ists in Russia. Putin’s comments about organizations, which is acceptable, leads to “political pressure.” foreign funding of NGOs and the and funding of political campaigns, future of Russia’s environmental laws which is not. Environmental Laws underscored many of the most under Attack? extreme fears that have been brewing Clearly, there is a “gray area” in terms During the July meeting, Putin entered since the beginning of his term. of funding political activities. Can for- into a testy exchange with Svyatoslav However, many of Putin’s widely- eign foundations fund public educa- Zabelin, who is the chair of the Socio- reported statements from that tion efforts that might encourage citi- Ecological Union and who has been a exchange have been taken out of con- zens to vote in a pro-environmental leading environmental activist since text. A more thorough reading of his manner? Can foreign foundations the 1980s. Zabelin confronted Putin statements reveals that while the cur- fund organizations to meet with gov- over his support of the controversial rent political climate remains precari- ernment officials and Duma represen- Siberia-Pacific Pipeline, which, if built, ous for activism in Russia, opportuni- tatives to encourage pro-environmen- will stretch over 4,000 kilometers from ties to influence and even cooperate tal policy changes? Siberia to the Russian Far East. Russian with the government are actually environmentalists have asked that the expanding. It is important for foreign funders to pipeline be routed around the habitat be aware of and sensitive to concerns of the Amur Leopard, and that it avoid Putin on Civil Society about funding political activities with- a pristine marine ecosystem on Funding in Russia. At the same time, however, Russia’s Pacific Coast. Thus far, Putin At the meeting, Putin highlighted the the regulations on funding charitable and the Russian government have not government’s support of Russian phi- organizations to conduct political acceded to those demands. lanthropy. However, as many observers activity are similar to those in the U.S.: note, the Russian oligarchs who hold direct grants for political campaigns or Putin's responded to Zabelin by saying, most of Russia’s wealth are making political parties are not appropriate; “These environmental impact reviews much of their fortune through the however, there is no immediate prob- should not prevent the development extractive industries. It is unlikely that lem with funding for public education of the country and its economy.” these sources will support environ- campaigns or other conservation mental work, which they will likely activities. It is clear from this dialogue that Putin perceive as being against their inter- and other government bureaucrats ests. In addition, many of Russia’s envi- Perception Clashes with share a misunderstanding that environ- ronmental organizations are unwilling Reality at the Regional Level mentalists are “anti-development.” This to accept money from these sources to Regional groups are concerned that is a bit surprising, given that Russian avoid any perception of conflict of the Russian media’s reporting of environmental groups have clearly interest. Putin’s comments has added to an articulated that they favor a different already oppressive atmosphere. This route for the Siberia-Pacific Pipeline, This leaves foreign philanthropy as the could increase regional government not a stop to the project altogether. primary funding source for many lead- officials’ harassment of organizations ing Russian environmental groups. At that are funded from foreign sources. Analysis from Moscow-based environ- the meeting, Putin expressed extreme Environmental NGOs are increasingly mental organizations following the displeasure with the financing of being checked by the Federal Security meeting primarily focused on the issue direct political activities from abroad. Service (FSB) and government audit- of environmental impact reviews. While this was widely reported as an ing organizations, although these Several groups worried that Putin’s attack on foreign support of NGOs, checks have not led to problems as comments foretold a potential liquida- much of it does not support the direct long as their books and activities are in tion of environmental impact review political work, to which Putin referred. accordance with the law. In one processes within Russia. However, in instance – in Siberia’s Altai Region – the same meeting, Putin promised to Putin clarified this in an August 2 press two government officials were pre- address environmental concerns that conference, saying, “I am against vented from traveling to the U.S. on an the environmental review functions financing of political activity in Russia environmental exchange following are working inadequately due to hav-

Summer 2005, No. 39 17 NGO News ing functions dispersed among two review system or limit public partici- Conclusion agencies. pation in the process. Vladimir Putin’s comments demonstrate the power of Russia’s civil soci- In Putin’s August 2 comments, he While it is doubtful that Russia will get ety, and particularly that of environ- added, “as soon as large and competi- rid of its environmental impact review mental organizations. While he did tive projects develop with our part- processes, it must be recognized that not call for any further restrictions on ners, ecological problems appear. We environmental groups have been par- civil society, his comments have are interested in a true, deep environ- ticularly successful at using these already changed the political climate mental impact review of any project, review processes to gain environmen- in which environmental organiza- but we are against using ecological tal wins – just as environmental tions operate, especially among problems as an instrument in a com- groups have been successful at using lower-level federal and regional petitive fight. That is my position.” the National Environmental Policy Act bureaucrats. In this climate, it or the Endangered Species Act in the becomes especially important to Based on these comments, it appears U.S. It is especially important to devel- maintain or increase independent that some version of Russia’s environ- op additional approaches in Russia support for environmental organiza- mental impact review process – that will gain government and public tions in Russia. which is an underpinning of Russia’s support for environmental protection. Law on Protection of the David Gordon is Executive Director Environment – will remain. However, For funders, this dynamic highlights of Pacific Environment, which sup- Vladimir Grachev of the Duma that foreign foundations and environ- ports public environmental efforts in Committee of Ecology is leading a mental organizations must be especial- Siberia and the Russian Far East. For commission that is developing a new ly sensitive to local groups’ recommen- more information about Pacific proposal of Russia’s environmental dations about how to maneuver within Environment, please see laws. Some observers believe this new the political atmosphere for environ- http://www.pacificenvironment.org. law could weaken the environmental mental advocacy within Russia.

Recent Draft Legislation Threatens Russia’s Third Sector Just over three months after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued comments condemning foreign financing of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) carrying out political activities in the Russian Federation, a group of Duma deputies – elected representatives in Russia’s lower house of parliament – introduced a bill, which if passed into law, would significantly restrict NGO activities in Russia. The bill, which was submitted on November 7, 2005, proposes changes to several federal laws drafted in the 1990s, including those governing the activities of public associations and non-profit organizations. The draft legislation envisions the compulsory registration of all NGOs with a state commission, or its designated plenipotentiary organs on the local level. In addition to making decisions about whether or not a particular organization will be registered, this body would also be invested with extensive monitoring functions. According to the bill’s text, the The Russian Duma, where lawmakers are registration body would have rights including those to request an NGO’s finan- reviewing a controversial bill on NGOs. cial documents without cause or justification, to deploy its representatives to Photo by B. Mooza. observe activities carried out by that organization, and to conduct check-ups to verify that the organization’s activities correspond with the aims set forth in its by-laws. The draft legislation devotes particular attention to subsidiary offices of foreign NGOs. Its first article plainly states that the establishment and operation of such representative offices, or that of non-profit organizations, the founders of which are foreign non-profit NGOs, is not permitted in “closed administrative territories,” which are considered strategic. Also, in order to maintain their Russian presence, all other foreign NGOs would have to register their representative offices as separate organizations, and in accordance with the requirements established by the law. Although the bill’s sponsors claim that the legislative changes they propose are intended to curtail money laundering and control the activities of terrorist groups, many NGOs fear that the proposed law would significantly restrict their activities and limit their effectiveness. Some observers believe that this clear crackdown on civil society may be in response to the recent democratic revolutions in the former Soviet Republics of Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan, which many Russian officials attribute in part to targeted foreign funding and influence in the region. Lawmakers had not yet begun to review and discuss the bill at the time this text was prepared. However, because the draft law has multi-partisan support within the Duma, it is expected to pass. According to the bill submitted on November 7, the law, if passed in its present form, would come into force on January 1, 2006. Compiled by Melissa Mooza, RCN Assistant Editor.

18 Russian Conservation News Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia

By Way of an Introduction

onservationists around the world Cwidely recognize the Caucasus region as one of the Earth’s most biologically diverse. Boasting high species richness and levels of endemism, among other exceptional characteristics, this mountainous region between the Black and Caspian Seas is globally important for biodiversity conservation. In the upcoming section of this thirty-ninth issue of Russian Conservation News, we spotlight one of the countries at the heart of this special region: Armenia.

The following pages of the journal offer a rounded conservation profile of the country, including descrip- tions of its varied landscapes and rich biodiversity. Although the present Armenian state is no larger than Russia’s Lake Baikal, its landscapes are remarkably diverse, including semi-desert, juniper sparse forest, broadleaf forest, mountain steppe, and sub-alpine meadow habitats. These habitats harbor many rare species, such as the Persian leopard, which stealthily prowls Armenia’s southern regions. In this section, you will read about the research work of A view from Armenia’s highest peak, Mt. Aragats. two dedicated Armenian scientists to Photo by C. Santore. research and protect this extremely rare and elusive cat. We also offer an report on the deforestation threat, one of the country’s protected nature article on work conducted under the which emerged most noticeably after areas. Birds of Armenia Project to investi- the dissolution of the Soviet Union, gate the majestic raptors circling when acute economic and energy This reporting is part of our continu- the skies above the forests on crises plagued the newly independent ing commitment to cover conserva- Armenia’s highest peak, Mt. Aragats. Republic of Armenia. tion-related issues in the Caucasus region. It was made possible by the The upcoming pages also present In our coverage of Armenia, we will Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. some of the pressing conservation also share with you a number of heart- For more information about this fund- challenges facing the country. You will ening conservation success stories, ing partnership between Conservation read about Armenia’s beloved and such as the reforestation and poverty International (CI), the Global beleaguered Lake Sevan, and the long- reduction work of the Armenia Tree Environment Facility (GEF), the lasting mark that unsustainable nature Project and a victorious campaign by Government of Japan, the MacArthur use policies during the Soviet era have Armenian and international activists Foundation, and the World Bank, left on this vast alpine lake. We also to reroute a highway planned to cross please see: http://www.cepf.net.

Summer 2005, No. 39 19 Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia Landscapes and Biodiversity in Armenia: An Overview

By Gohar Oganezova

rmenia is an ancient land, and The country harbors a sur- A although its name appeared on prising wealth of flora and maps belonging to the Egyptian fauna. In Armenia, 5,455 pharaohs, many people in the modern plant species1 are regis- world are unfamiliar with the nation’s tered, of which 3,015 whereabouts. Armenia’s territory has species are flowering decreased significantly since antiquity plants. Diverse vegetation and now just ten percent of its historic communities are also char- lands fall within the borders of the acteristic for the republic. contemporary Republic of Armenia. Steppe, meadow, mountain Situated on approximately 30,000 forests, different types of square kilometers in the southwestern open woodlands, alpine Transcaucasus region, Armenia is a and sub-alpine communi- small spot on the globe, but one well ties, swamps, semi-deserts, worth knowing. and islands of desert are among the many commu- Armenia is not only the smallest of the nities that comprise three republics in the southern Armenia’s surprising mosa- Map by M. Dubinin. Caucasus region (the others being ic of vegetation cover. Georgia and Azerbaijan), but it is also Arailer, in the central part of the coun- the most mountainous. It occupies the This diversity can be attributed to the try, are almost completely devoid of northern part of the Armenian Plateau country’s complex mountain relief. springs and receive very little precipi- and is located almost entirely at eleva- Armenia’s mountains have varied ori- tation. tions of at least 500 meters above sea gins. Some appeared as a result of tec- level. The highest point in the republic tonic shifts and others from the activi- It is also here in Armenia that two dif- is Mt. Aragats (4,095 meters above sea ty of numerous volcanoes. The coun- ferent floristic complexes meet: the level). The region’s largest alpine lake, try’s mountain chains run north-south moisture-loving Caucasian mesophytic Lake Sevan, is located in Armenia. Also and east-west and differ from one floristic complex and the Armenian- found here are the sources of numer- another in their moisture regimes. Iranian floristic complex, which is ous rivers in the Kura-Araks watershed, Some, such as the Murguz Chain in adapted to arid climates. The country which encompasses 200,000 square northeastern Armenia, have abundant is also regarded as one of the world’s kilometers in Armenia, Azerbaijan, springs and streams and receive much ancient cradles of agrobiodiversity. Georgia, and parts of Turkey and Iran. precipitation. Others, such as Mt. Numerous local, and for that reason

The Ararat Valley at dusk. Mt. Ararat is a 5,165-meter-tall snow-capped dormant volcanic cone located in northeastern Turkey. The peak, which was part of Armenian territory until 1915 when it fell to the Turks, remains a national symbol of Armenia. Photo by K. Avanyan.

20 Russian Conservation News Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia especially precious, types of apricots, peaches, apples, pears, walnuts, grains, and other cultivated plants are concentrated here. Diverse populations of these crop plants’ wild relatives are also encountered here and they comprise an important part of the republic’s ecosystems.

Armenia’s mountainous terrain and its various vegetation communities create habitat for a diverse group of animal species. Birds occupy a special place among local fauna and avifauna here is extremely rich. Located along the global flyway, Armenia is an intersection, where Asian and European bird species approach and co-exist with one another. In total, 349 bird species Lake Sevan. Photo by G. Oganezova. are registered in the republic. The Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) the Red Data Book of the former has reached disastrous levels. and marbled teal (Marmaronetta Soviet Union, include the Specialists predict that if the current angustirostris) are listed in both the Mediterranean horseshoe bat rate of logging persists, Armenia will Red Data Book of Armenia and on the (Rhinolophus euryale), Mehely’s horse- be stripped of its forests in a matter of World Conservation Union (IUCN) shoe bat (R. mehelyi), the bezoar goat several decades. And with the forests, Red List of Threatened Species, while (Capra aegagrus aegagrus), and the so too would disappear many of the other bird species encountered in Armenian mouflon. country’s animal species. Armenia such as the ferruginous duck (Aythya nytoca), lesser kestrel (Falco Yet, much of Armenia’s outstanding Lake Sevan, which is both Armenia’s naumanni), and corn crake (Crex biodiversity is under significant threat. largest lake and the largest supply of crex) are included on the IUCN Red The reasons for this are similar to the freshwater in the region, also faces a List only. Richer still is the country’s causes behind biodiversity loss in very serious threat. Since the 1930s, insect fauna, which is represented by other parts of the world. Simply, global when the waters of this oligotrophic more than 14,900 species. climate change and human activities lake were first used to support the are negatively affecting the natural country’s industrial, agricultural, and Reptiles and mammals are far fewer, environment. In Armenia, anthro- energy sectors, the lake’s level has 52 and 83 species, respectively. Of the pogenic impacts such as intensive plunged by almost twenty meters. As a reptiles, many are endemic, including agricultural and livestock develop- result, its temperature regime has the white-bellied lizard (Lacerta uni- ment and urban and industrial devel- changed. As the water mass began to sexualis), the Armenian lizard opment, are exacerbated by the coun- warm, algal blooms occurred, meaning (L. armeniaca), and Darevsky’s viper try’s relatively high population density that algae in the lake increased dra- (Vipera darevskii). Threatened reptiles (400-500 people per square kilome- matically and became visible to the include the Caucasian rat snake ter), as well as by the paucity of arable eye. The Sevan trout (Salmo ishkan), (Elaphe hohenackeri); the lidless skink land (just 18% of the total land area), an endemic fish species that had pre- (Ablepharus cernovi); and the much of which is also threatened by viously been represented by four sub- Armenian viper (Vipera raddei) and desertification. Nearly 80% of species, diminished drastically, while racerunner (Eremias arguta transcau- Armenia’s land is characterized by two sub-species of less valuable white- casica), both of which are also some degree of degradation. fish (Coregonus lavaretus) that were endemics. Among Armenia’s 83 mam- introduced to the lake in the 1920s, mals, six endemic species or sub- For Armenia, the last fifteen years have thrived. species are registered: the northern been very difficult. Socio-economic mole vole (Ellobius lutescens), and political crises have been abun- In recent years, though, use of the Vigradov's jird (Meriones vinogradovi), dant and this has only increased lake’s water has been scaled back; now the jeroboa (Allactaga williamsi), the human pressures on the environment. it is used for irrigation only. In addi- Caucasian birch mouse (Sicista cauca- In Armenia, the use of all natural tion, a tunnel that diverts water to the sica), the Armenian mouflon (Ovis resources, including biological lake from the nearby Arpa River was ammon gmelin), and a sub-species of resources, has been uncontrolled to repaired and again put into use. These Natterer's bat (Myotis nattereri arax- the point of being catastrophic. The interventions have not only stopped enus). Endangered mammals, listed country’s forest ecosystems have suf- the decrease in the level of the lake, both in Armenia’s Red Data Book and fered in particular, as illegal logging but also succeeded in increasing it by

Summer 2005, No. 39 21 Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia

A typical mountain forest landscape in northern Armenia. Photo by G. Oganezova. two meters. This positive development tection regimes will grow from ten to try’s NGOs are not always in step with has buoyed hopes that the lake’s natu- nearly twenty percent. The implemen- one another and seldom collaborate. ral balance might be restored and that tation of this program may unify In addition, most of the public, which Sevan, Armenia’s great jewel, will be Armenia’s specially protected areas is still largely impoverished, is not saved. within one network, which would be involved in the environmental move- connected by migration corridors. The ment. The Armenian government is making prospects of uniting Armenia’s pro- efforts to improve the ecological situa- tected areas network with a regional But hope is not lost. We remain firm tion in the country. Most of the state’s network of protected areas, which is in our belief that Armenia will be plans are related to obligations under only just now being planned, are also incorporated into global processes, various international conventions, very real. and that the country will long occupy including the United Nations (UN) a place on the map of the world, not Conventions to Combat Despite these positive steps, most of just as an intersection of flyways, but Desertification, on Climate Change, the ecological problems in Armenia also ecotourism routes. Come, visit us and on Biological Diversity, and the still remain unresolved. Many of the in Armenia. Come to our mountains. Council of Europe’s European issues are not actively being This ancient land has endured many Landscape Convention. At present, a addressed—plans to resolve them exist misfortunes and hardships and national strategy for the sustainable only on paper—while some issues are should withstand these latest chal- management of forest resources is not even being reviewed right now. lenges. being developed. The strategy proposes many new approaches. Among Armenia is going through a challeng- Gohar Oganezova, a doctor of bio- other innovations, it envisions forest ing period in its long history. The logical science, is Vice President of the certification and the partial transfer of country is making a serious effort to Armenian Botanical Society and the forest ownership, such as by leasing build a civilized and democratic state, Head Specialist of the Institute of forest resources or transferring owner- but for now, real results are still a long Botany, within the National Academy of ship of forests to nearby villages. way off. Corruption and shortcomings Sciences of the Republic of Armenia. in management on all levels of gov- In addition, the Armenian government ernment are thwarting progress. The 1 All numeric data were taken from “The approved a national strategy and republic’s non-governmental organi- National Action Plan to Combat action plan to develop the country’s zations often collaborate with govern- Desertification in Armenia” (Armenia specially protected areas. According to mental bodies, participate in various 2000) and “Desertification in Armenia this program, the number of specially programs, and initiate activities to and Measures to Combat it” (G.G. Oganezova, “Conference on protected areas will increase almost resolve ecological problems. But, to a Desertification,” Caucasus Regional two-fold; that is, the percentage of the large extent, these organizations’ Environmental Center, Tbilisi, 2002). country’s territory under various pro- activities remain ineffective. The coun-

22 Russian Conservation News Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia Armenia Tree Project Beginning to Fight Deforestation Threat

By Jeff Masarjian and Jason Sohigian

t the turn of the twentieth centu- A ry, an estimated twenty-five percent of Armenia was covered by trees. According to a Ministry of Nature Protection report on biodiversity, forests now cover approximately just ten percent of the land surface of Armenia, while others have reported forest cover at only eight percent. Because of the low level of forest cover, the World Bank has estimated that eighty percent of Armenia is at risk of becoming desert. At the current rate of deforestation, all of Armenia’s forests may be gone in as little as twenty years, leading to irreversible environmental damage and loss of a critical component of Armenia’s infra- Historic and projected forest cover in Armenia. structure. Map by UNDP, American University of Armenia, and George Nercessian, and adapted by M. Dubinin. The loss of forests in Armenia, brought about by a lack of alternate fuel sources, legal and illegal cutting and the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jared export of wood, and improper man- Diamond has noted in his recent book, agement of this renewable resource, is “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail Over the course of eight years, thou- having a dramatic impact on the envi- or Succeed,” deforestation, soil erosion, sands of trees were planted in commu- ronment. A primary cause of defor- and water management problems all nities throughout the country as part estation is poverty and unemploy- result in less food for populations. Such of the Sponsor-A-Tree program fund- ment. Without other sources of problems have also been exacerbated ed by thousands of individual income, people inevitably turn to throughout history by droughts, which Diasporan donors, two state-of-the-art unsustainable harvesting of forest have been partly caused by humans nurseries were opened in Karin and resources. In urban centers such as through deforestation, notes Diamond. Khachpar (in the Aragatsotn Region), Yerevan, residents desperate for fuel several forest rejuvenation programs cut between 2–3 million trees during To help address this crisis, Armenian- were implemented in the the energy shortages of the early American philanthropist Carolyn Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial 1990s, often leaving only the stumps Mugar founded Armenia Tree Project Park (in the Yerevan Region) and else- remaining. These barren lots were (ATP) in 1994. During the winter of where, and a database of Diasporan once protective hillsides circling urban 1992 while visiting Armenia, Ms. donors was created. areas as a vital barrier to pollution and Mugar saw that families desperate to dust, and once beautiful parks were heat their homes were burning their ATP has expanded over the past sever- turned into ecological graveyards own furniture, and massive numbers al years, and as a result, the organiza- devoid of greenery. of trees were being cut for fuel. In tion has revisited its methodology to order to research and develop a plan ensure that programs and objectives Forests perform important environ- for an organization that would work work hand in hand toward accom- mental and socioeconomic functions, towards preventing further deforesta- plishing the interrelated goals of tree but when they disappear, inevitable tion in Armenia, she hired a local staff planting, poverty reduction, and envi- and long-term consequences result, in Armenia, and ATP’s efforts were offi- ronmental education and advocacy. such as increased erosion, flooding, cially launched with a tree-planting at and landslides, drying of the local cli- the Nork Senior Center in Yerevan in Since 2001, ATP has begun to redirect mate and loss of water supply, reduc- 1994. In the US, a small staff was hired its goals towards more aggressive, all- tion of topsoil fertility causing lower to do fundraising and public relations encompassing reforestation efforts, crop yields, loss of plant and animal with the national and international aimed at rehabilitating devastated biodiversity, and severe air pollution. As community. rural and urban areas and providing

Summer 2005, No. 39 23 Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia

Armenian citizens with the resources teams of workers in order to grow a development in villages inhabited by as well as incentive for redeveloping new, vital tree with an intact root sys- Armenian refugees relocated from their immediate environment. tem. ATP’s targets for 2005 have been Azerbaijan. In 2004, ATP taught 17 Specifically, programs have been to extend community tree planting families in the village of Aygut tech- launched in Aygut (in the activities to local villages where back- niques for growing tree seedlings in Gegharkounik Region) in the vicinity yards and common areas will receive backyard nursery plots. of Lake Sevan and in Vanadzor, the new trees, rejuvenate public areas third largest city in Armenia, located in including the Botanical Gardens and With ATP’s technical support these the Lori region. Since 1994, over Komitas Park (both in the Yerevan micro-enterprises produced 20,000 600,000 trees have been planted and Region), and to reforest a large tract of seedlings, and ATP paid participants restored, and hundreds of jobs have land in Aygut. for each seedling transplanted into the been created for Armenians in season- forest. This year, ATP has expanded al tree-regeneration programs. For the As highlighted by international this project to include 200 families coming year, ATP has been searching foresters such as Nobel Peace Prize who will be growing 200,000 for ways to expand its output and winner Wangari Maathai of the Green seedlings. The development of these begin planting trees at an even larger Belt Movement in Kenya, poverty is “micro-enterprise” nurseries not only scale to combat the threat of defor- one of the great enemies of forests. provides for larger scale reforestation estation in Armenia. In addition to the Historically, people with no other efforts, but also significantly increases 50,000-60,000 trees outplanted each viable source of income or energy each participant’s annual income. year from the organization’s tradition- have destroyed the forests that were al nurseries in Aygut, ATP has 200,000 their lifelines, due to non-sustainable While ATP’s primary focus is reforesta- seedlings growing for reforestation harvesting. Therefore, successful refor- tion, it has also encouraged the purposes, and at its current nursery estation must be combined with local- involvement of other agencies in pro- site in Vanadzor there are more than ly based poverty reduction efforts in viding a broad range of services to the 300,000 trees growing. order to protect existing resources and Getik River Valley. Organizations investments in the future. In both including Heifer International, Project ATP’s tree planting strategy has three urban and rural settings, poverty Harmony, World Vision, Armenian Eye components. The first is production of reduction and community develop- Care Project, UNDP, USDA-MAP, and trees on an increasingly larger scale at ment activities reduce the pressure on Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation are the state-of-the-art nurseries at Karin remaining forests. all involved in new projects. The ulti- and Khachpar, at the reforestation mate goal is to revitalize the socioeco- nursery in Vanadzor, and in backyard After assessing the severity of tree cut- nomic and ecological conditions of reforestation nurseries in the rural ting and how it affected the vitality the thirteen villages throughout the Getik River Valley. Second is planting and sustainability of citizens in rural, Getik River Valley. these trees in partnership with resi- impoverished areas, ATP laid out a dents of urban and rural communities strategy to reforest the Getik River ATP is also developing environmental at public sites, rural backyards, and Valley, an area located just north of education as a core program area in areas targeted for mountainous refor- Lake Sevan. ATP initiated a pilot proj- order to prepare the nation’s youth for estation. And third is coppicing, ect that was designed to reforest becoming the next generation of envi- whereby the unproductive shoots that degraded lands while generating ronmental stewards. By actively engag- sprout from a stump are trimmed by income through micro-enterprise ing youth in a process to better under-

The efforts of the Armenia Tree Project helped transform the Khor Virap Monastery in the Ararat Valley. Photo courtesy of Armenia Tree Project.

24 Russian Conservation News Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia

cautiously optimistic that a decision to bypass Shikahogh will be implemented. During a June 17 public forum at the American University of Armenia, the Minister of Transportation announced that the government is choosing a new route that bypasses the reserve, and the Prime Minister appointed a commission to study the issue.

In its first 10 years of operation in Armenia, ATP has developed a significant range of knowledge and experiences. As it builds on successes and fail- ures by moving toward large-scale reforestation efforts, ATP has begun the process of appealing to international agencies and organizations for larger sources of funding. In addition, ATP has begun to focus its attention on some of the challenges of reforestation in Armenia. These include the need to Members of the environmental youth club established by Armenia Tree Project (ATP) work- work in cooperation with Armenian ing in the school fruit orchard in the village of Aygut. Photo by G. Lachinian. governmental agencies and local com- stand and appreciate the value of a and environmental laws that provide munities for securing access to land for healthy and sustainable environment, for natural resource protection is most reforestation, finding adequate sup- ATP seeks to protect the trees planted effectively accomplished with a coali- plies of local seed sources since most today from future exploitation. tion of like-minded individuals and of the healthy trees in the country have groups, and ATP has been a proponent already been harvested, and meeting ATP has developed an environmental of working in collaboration with part- the organization’s stringent site selec- curriculum called “Plant an Idea, Plant ners to promote an environmental tion criteria. Sites are chosen based on a Tree.” ATP staff and Peace Corps vol- ethic at all levels of society. a number of factors, including access unteers are field-testing the environ- to adequate water, protection from mental curriculum on students of all Just this year, ATP worked with others livestock grazing, and adequate protec- levels at the Ohanian Center, at the to advocate for an alternative to a pro- tion measures against fire and especial- ATP nursery in Karin nursery, and in posed roadway through the middle of ly poaching and cutting. villages. They are presenting the vari- the Shikahogh Nature Reserve in the ous lessons to students and providing southern part of the country. In May After operating in Armenia for over a ATP feedback on the quality of infor- when the construction project became decade now, it has become apparent mation provided and its effectiveness. known to the public, ATP founder that the constraints on reforestation The eventual goal is to present the cur- Carolyn Mugar sent a letter to the are not merely financial. ATP is dedi- riculum to the Ministry of Education President and other high ranking offi- cated to working with communities, for implementation in schools cials urging them to hold public hear- organizations, governments, and indi- throughout Armenia, but it is still in an ings and choose an alternate route. viduals toward the goal of assisting the early stage and we anticipate it will be ATP staff traveled to the site on fact- Armenian people in using trees to some time before that is done. In addi- finding missions with scientific improve their standard of living and tion, all of the reforestation work in experts and journalists, and Ms. Mugar protect the environment, guided by rural villages has a key educational traveled from the U.S. on such a visit in the need to promote self-sufficiency, component focusing on youth. An June. The ATP outreach office issued aid those with the fewest resources Environmental Education Center at several press releases and action alerts first, and conserve the indigenous the Karin nursery is a state-of-the-art via email to constituents about the ecosystem. facility in which students from sec- endangered reserve, and commis- ondary schools and colleges, as well as sioned a documentary film on the Jeff Masarjian is Executive Director professionals in the field, attend train- Shikahogh Reserve, funded in partner- and Jason Sohigian is Deputy ings and seminars on trees and the ship with Armenian Forests NGO and Director of Armenia Tree Project. For environment. World Wildlife Fund. The coalition of additional information about the pro- individuals and representatives of gram and the problem of deforestation Advocating for the development of a more than forty local and internation- in Armenia, visit the Web site sustainable forest policy in Armenia al NGOs and scientific organizations is www.armeniatree.org.

Summer 2005, No. 39 25 Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia

Lake Sevan: Lessons in Nature Use

By Rafael Hovhannisyan, Zhanna Mkrtchyan, Robert Hovhannisyan, and Varduhi Grigoryan

mong the former Soviet states, the cluded that ARepublic of Armenia is one of the lowering most arid. The vast majority of the the level of hundred or so lakes and reservoirs Lake Sevan dotting the countryside are small, gen- and erally occupying no more than a few decreasing dozen hectares and averaging less its surface than 10 meters in depth. Lake Sevan, area would in the northeastern part of Armenia, is reduce the loss of an exception. This vast alpine lake, water through located in the Caucasus Mountains at evaporation, thus an elevation of 1,916 meters above sea making more level, holds 58.5 cubic kilometers of water available for water and its surface area spans nearly release and use. 1,250 square kilometers. Lake Sevan is not only the largest freshwater body in This conclusion Armenia, but also in the entire served as the foun- Caucasus Region. dation of a project, developed in The energy of Lake Sevan’s waters 1931, to decrease have brought power to many cities the lake’s water and villages in Armenia and helped level by fifty drive industrialization of the country. meters over fifty The lake also brought life to the sultry years, or by 1,025 deserts of the Ararat Valley by enabling million cubic the development of agricultural activi- meters annually— ties. Resorts built along the shores of 650 million cubic this picturesque lake have accommo- meters for Map by M. Dubinin. dated tourists from around the world. hydropower and Lake Sevan has always been and will 375 million cubic meters for irriga- Reasons for this were manifold. always be exceptionally important for tion. According to the plan, the natu- Calculations suggested that freshwater Armenia’s economy. For this reason ral outflow of water from the lake sources in Armenia that could be used the protection and sustainable use of through the Radzan River would to expand the country’s supply of its waters is a task of utmost national increase by fourteen times. These drinking, agricultural, and industrial importance. water releases were initiated both to water would be exhausted by the end irrigate the Ararat Plain and outlying of the twentieth century. Given this, Lake Sevan has long attracted the suburban regions (totaling 130,000 Lake Sevan would remain Armenia’s interest and attention of researchers hectares in area), as well as to pro- only guaranteed source of water. Also, and planners hoping find an effective duce hydropower at the Sevan- the decrease in water up to that point means to utilize the lake’s water and Razdan “power cascade,” a group of has exposed close to 200 square kilo- fish resources. Theoretical work hydropower stations constructed on meters of silty and sandy-silty soil on toward this end dates as far back as the Razdan River. At the same time, it the lake’s shore; however, these areas the mid-1800s, when the prospects of was expected that the land exposed proved unsuitable for agricultural use using the lake’s water to irrigate land as the lake’s level decreased could be and are now affected by intensive ero- on the left bank of the Radzan River used to sow crops. sion processes. In addition, it was were first explored. The drive to determined that Lake Sevan did not develop Lake Sevan’s water resources Work to lower the water level of the produce adequate energy to support intensified during the first three lake according to this plan began in the long-term development of the decades of the twentieth century, after 1933. Within twenty-five years, the Armenian economy. New hydro-elec- researchers had determined that water level of the lake had already tric and atomic energy stations were under natural conditions, twenty times fallen by almost fourteen meters and built in Armenia and this created more water evaporated from the lake it became clear that the plan to alternative opportunities to generate than flowed into the Radzan River, the decrease the lake’s water level by fifty energy without causing such signifi- lake’s only outlet. They further con- meters needed to be re-examined. cant damage to nature.

26 Russian Conservation News Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia

Lake Sevan. Photo by C. Santore.

Considering the aforementioned and planners decided to take steps to lize and subsequently increase the developments, the initial project to preserve the water in Lake Sevan clos- lake’s water level, planners decided in use the lake’s waters was re-examined er to its natural level. In order to stabi- 1961 to divert part of the flow (250

Changes in Lake Sevan during the Course of its Drainage Unit of Parameter 1930-1935 1978-1982 1985-1990 1995-1999 2001-2003 Measure Deviation from the natural Meters 0.0 -18.8 -17.6 -19.8 -20.2 level of the lake Height above sea level Meters 1,915.6 1,896.8 1,898.0 1,895.8 1,895.4 Surface area Kilometers 1,416 1,249 1,259 1,246 1,242 Maximum depth Meters 98.6 79.8 81.0 78.8 78.4 Volume of water Kilometers 58.5 35.3 37.4 34.0 33.4 Water transparency Meters 14.3 3.0 5.6 2.1 3.0 Bacteria-plankton 106 cells/milliliter 0.4 1.80 0.78 2.1 3.6 Phytoplankton Grams/meter3 0.32 3.5 2.1 5.2 6.4 Biomass kilojoules/ Primary Production 4,180 28,600 14,630 29,260 N/A meter2/year Macrophytes Tons 103/year 900.0 8.05 37.3 12.0 42.0 Zooplankton Grams/meter3 0.45 1.80 0.64 0.70 0.73 Fish tons/year 1000 3070 2200 800 560

Summer 2005, No. 39 27 Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia million cubic meters per year) of the two meters. Although the net inflow than five times of suspended and dis- Arpa River, which flows from the of water reversed again after 1995, solved organic matter decreased the Vadrenis Mountain Massif, into Lake Lake Sevan remains extremely unsta- transparency of the lake’s water, Sevan through 48-kilometer-long tun- ble to this day. which affected photochemical and nel. Construction on the Arpa-Sevan biological processes in the lake. The tunnel began in 1962 and continued And what effects have seventy years of oxidation of benthic organic matter, for almost twenty years. All this time, human tinkering had on the lake and which entered into the lake’s bio- the level of the lake continued to fall, its ecosystem? The lake lost more than chemical cycle, caused the oxygen and by 1980, the decrease had reached 10% of its surface area and more than concentration in the lake to decrease 18.5 meters, the lake’s surface area had 40% of its volume. The lake’s cold, by more than 50%, while it neared decreased by 12.2%, and its volume by benthic layer of water also disap- zero in the benthic layers. In addition, 42.2%. peared. This zone, located immediately the concentration of nutrients derived above the bottom of the lake, had the from human activities, particularly The Arpa-Sevan tunnel was put into lake’s highest concentration and con- nitrogen, increased by thirty times, and use in 1982. The lake’s water level tent of oxygen. The cold water also iso- this stimulated massive growth and began to stabilize shortly thereafter lated a diffusion of organic material reproduction of algae. Finally, the dif- and subsequently increased by ninety that had accumulated on the upper fusion, sedimentation, and sediment centimeters. To further increase the layers of the bottom of the lake over burial processes of various organic rise in the lake’s level, planners devised centuries; it further regulated the bio- materials were destroyed, as was the another tunnel project, the 21.6 kilo- geochemical cycling of matter. Due to redox process in the benthic zone. All meter-long Vorotan-Arpa tunnel. This these changes, the average annual tem- of these changes caused significant second tunnel was planned to transfer perature of the lake’s water increased biological reorganization in the troph- 165 million cubic meters of water a by almost two degrees Celsius, while its ic chains of the lake’s ecosystem. year from the Vorotan River to the thermal capacity (the accumulation of Kechut Reservoir and from there the sun’s energy) decreased nearly 1.5 For instance, due to the increase in the through the Arpa-Sevan tunnel to Lake times, thus leading to frequent freez- quantity of nitrogen in the lake, as well Sevan. Construction and repair work ing. In addition, the lake’s horizontal as the significant loss in the biomass of of the Vorotan-Arpa tunnel continues and vertical water current intensified higher aquatic vegetation (from to this day. and this increased by several times the 900,000 tons to 8,000 tons), the bio- quantity of suspended and dissolved mass of single-celled algae increased Although the net inflow of water into organic matter in the lake, which had almost twenty-fold. This, in turn, Lake Sevan was positive throughout previously been isolated in the benthic affected species and communities of much of the 1980s, high releases again cold water zone. aquatic bacteria, multi-celled inverte- took place during the years 1990- brates, and fish. 1995, when the country experienced These phenomena, in turn, negatively an energy crisis, and the water level of impacted the lake’s ecosystem in four Many of Lake Sevan’s fish communi- the lake decreased again, this time by general aspects. The increase by more ties were also profoundly affected by

A peninsula extends out into Lake Sevan. Once just a chain of small islands, the peninsula formed after the lake’s water level decreased. Photo courtesy of WWF.

28 Russian Conservation News Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia the loss of spawning habitat—many littoral zone breeding grounds dried up as the lake’s level fell—as well as by unregulated fishing. Two lake-spawning sub-species of the Sevan trout (Salmo ischchan), an endemic, and the only salmonid in Lake Sevan, died out. The trout’s two river-spawning sub- species hover on the verge of extinction, as does the Gokcha barbel (Barbus goktschaicus). In addition, the population of the Sevan khramulya (Varicorhinus capoeta sevangi) continues to decrease.

Numerous other species of flora and fauna have declined or altogether disappeared due to the decreased water level of the lake and its associated consequences. For waterfowl, Lake Sevan serves as an important inland breeding area, as well as a resting and wintering site during migration. However, Delicate flowers adorn the shores of Armenia’s largest lake. Photo courtesy of WWF. because of the artificial water-level decrease and the drainage of close to Armenia’s nature conservation and sci- tion aims to help improve the ecosys- 10,000 hectares of swamp land, the entific communities, as well as its gov- tem of Lake Sevan, the natural land- number of bird species inhabiting the ernmental structures, have been work- scapes of its catchment area, and the lakeshore area has sharply fallen. ing to save the lake. Work is being car- watersheds of nearby rivers. The law ried out to increase the water level of established criteria for using Lake It is important to note that Lake Lake Sevan and to stop eutrophica- Sevan’s natural resources and allow- Sevan’s current ecological situation tion. Agricultural activity in the catch- able limits of change in its water qual- was caused not only by anthropogenic ment basin of Lake Sevan is being reg- ity. Nevertheless, there are still many restructuring of the lake’s hydrological ulated and work to decrease anthro- unresolved problems and the situa- processes, but also by the intensifica- pogenic nitrogen and phosphorous tion in the Sevan Basin remains very tion of industrial, agricultural, and loading into the lake from its catch- alarming. other economic activities in the lake’s ment basin is being carried out. In catchment area. Biogenic elements, addition, work to improve the sani- Rafael Hovhannisyan is the Director pollutants, and nutrients (primarily tary-toxicological status of Lake Sevan the Institute of Hydroecology and nitrogen and phosphorous) from fer- and its shore area is being implement- Ichthyology in Yerevan. He also the tilizers have entered into the lake’s ed. Hydrological scientific research head of the Union of Armenian ecosystem. In addition, intensive log- work also continues. Ecologists. Zhanna Mkrtchyan is a ging and the construction of numer- Junior Scientist at the Institute, where ous roads and recreational areas In 2001, the National Meeting of the Robert Hovhannisyan is a increased erosion in the lake’s catch- Republic of Armenia adopted the Consultant and Vardui Grigoryan is ment area. “Law on Sevan;” this piece of legisla- a Senior Scientist.

Sevan National Park

Sevan National Park, the only national park in Armenia, was established in 1978 to protect Lake Sevan and surrounding areas. Including its buffer zones, the park protects 150,100 hectares, 24,800 hectares of which are on dry land. The park falls within the jurisdiction of Armenia’s Ministry of Nature Protection and is managed as a research center that monitors the lake’s ecosystems and undertakes various conservation measures, including the regulation of use and tourism, the protection of historical and cultural monuments, and licensed fishing. The park has a system of zoning which includes a core (reserve) zone, a recreation zone, and a zone for economic use. Protection efforts are focused mainly on rare and endemic species of the lake and surrounding habitats.

Compiled with materials from the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia, available online at http://enrin.grida.no/biodiv/biodiv/national/armenia/proarea/snpv.htm.

Summer 2005, No. 39 29 Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia

A Victory for Shikahogh Reserve

By Inga Zarafian

corching land:” this how the unable to access the “Sname of the unique strict nature Mtnadzor Forest Massif, reserve in southern Armenia, which covers over one third Shikahogh Reserve, translates from of the reserve, due to the Armenian. The reserve’s geographic absence of roads leading to location has given rise to the uncom- it. In the last year, however, mon diversity of its flora and fauna. plans to construct a high- Mountain ridges shield three sides of way between Armenia and the reserve from the penetration of Iran brought road construc- cold, harsh winds, while one side is tion perilously close to the open to the caress of warm, moist air reserve’s borders, threaten- masses from the Caspian Sea. In ing Shikahogh’s intact Shikahogh, landscapes change abrupt- forests and the rich flora ly, with near-virgin oak forests sudden- and fauna communities ly giving way to peaceful alpine mead- that inhabit them. ows. More than 1,100 plant species grow in the reserve, among which In late November 2004, the Shikahogh Reserve. Map by M. Dubinin. there is a multitude of endemics and Ministry of Transportation rare species. Animals listed in the and Communication of the Republic inform them that their actions were International Red Data Book, such as of Armenia approved a project to con- illegal, and in violation of several inter- the Armenian mufflon (Ovis ammon struct the Kapan-Meghri highway con- national conventions as well as gmelin) and the bezoar goat (Capra necting Armenia with its neighbor to Armenian legislation, including the aegagrus aegagrus), are encountered the south, Iran. According to this ini- law “On Specially Protected Nature here. The Persian leopard (Panthera tial project, a seventeen-kilometer- Areas.” The surprised construction pardus saxicolor), which has begun to long stretch of road was planned to workers defensively assured represen- resettle in the region, has also been run through Shikahogh Reserve. A ten- tatives of the regional State Nature observed here in recent years. der among construction companies Conservation Inspectorate that they was hastily carried out. Although many were properly licensed and had official The pristine nature, which the reserve necessary documents, including results permission. The groups reached an has protected since 1958, remains from an environmental impact assess- impasse and the situation became largely untouched by man. Not even ment, which may have detailed antici- more acute by the hour. Bulldozers the widespread logging of Armenian pated impacts and damages, were not and tractors were stopped just short of forests, which was precipitated by the submitted, a winner of the tender was the nature reserve’s territory. The situa- country’s energy crisis in 1992-1996, named: the “Transproject” Company. tion required immediate and decisive affected Shikahogh. Loggers were action. The “Transproject” Non-governmental organizations in Company Armenia took up the cause and quickly set to launched a campaign to save work. The firm Shikahogh. Dr. Karen Manvelyan, the transported Director of the Worldwide Fund for construction Nature (WWF) Caucasus Programme equipment and Office in Armenia, appealed to the workers to the Union of Armenian Ecological NGOs middle of the with the suggestion that a working proposed road, group to protect the reserve be estab- just ten meters lished. Thus, on May 3, 2005, “SOS from the Shikahogh,” a coalition of concerned nature reserve’s individuals and representatives from border. Here, more than forty local and internation- they were met al NGOs and scientific organizations, The efforts of Armenian and international activists saved the near vir- by ecologists was formed. gin forests blanketing Shikahogh Reserve from a destructive plan to who arrived on route a highway through the protected area. Photo courtesy of WWF. the scene to

30 Russian Conservation News Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia

Working jointly, the members of this the site of road con- grassroots coalition played a critical struction near role in raising awareness about the the reserve threat to Shikahogh. In early May, the on June 1 to Armenian representative of the evaluate the Caucasus office of WWF appealed to situation and international organizations including assess pre- the United Nations Development sumed future Programme (UNDP), United Nations damages, in the event that con- Environment Programme (UNEP), and struction were to continue into the the Organization on Security and reserve’s territory. The independent Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) with experts estimated that the cost of the the request to come forward in sup- damage to the reserve could reach as port of the reserve. At the same time, high as twelve million dollars. About a the Union of Armenian Ecological week and a half later, another delega- NGOs appealed to high-ranking tion of independent experts and rep- Armenian officials, including the resentatives of NGOs and the media country’s President, Prime Minister, traveled to the Syuink region, where Speaker of Parliament, and General the reserve is located, to further Prosecutor, with the demand that the investigate the situation on the illegal construction be stopped. ground. The NGO “Armenian Forests” subsequently organized a press con- The endangered Armenian mufflon (Ovis Members of the coalition also organ- ference on the results of the trip to ammon gmelin)inhabits rough, rocky, moun- ized events designed to attract broad Shikahogh. tainous terrain in Skikahogh Reserve. public attention to the matter. On May Photo by H. Ghazaryan. 27, for instance, environmental NGOs Advocacy for the Shikahogh Reserve ing a meeting with the Minister of organized a protest at the Ministry of came not just from within Armenia. Nature Protection of the Republic of Transport and Communication, while The Armenian Diaspora joined the Armenia, Vardan Aivazyan, as well as at on June 17, the “SOS” Group staged a effort as well. On May 25, the a press conference. public hearing about the highway con- Armenian Assembly of America struction, which was held at the addressed an open letter about the Finally, after almost two months of American University of Armenia. necessity of protecting Shikahogh to intensive campaigning by Armenian the President of the Armenian and international NGOs and other Another important facet of the work Republic, Robert Kocharian. On June concerned activists, the government of the “SOS Shikahogh” group was in 14, the organization Armenia Tree of the Armenian Republic adopted the gathering and disseminating informa- Project issued an action alert asking decision on June 29, 2005, to con- tion from the front line. Independent Diaspora Armenians to communicate struct the road around, rather than experts from the coalition traveled to their concerns to President Kocharian through, the nature reserve. All those via an electronic letter who fought to save Shikahogh wonder forwarded to Armenian if this decision is indeed a victory, or Ambassador to the U.S. merely a temporary respite. True, the Tatoul Markarian. More construction workers relocated their than 700 people partic- equipment to another part of the road. ipated in this campaign. True, they have not yet violated the nature reserve. But Armenian NGOs The international con- are already familiar with the workings servation community of those who are motivated more by also expressed its con- short-term profit than by concern for cern about the threat to the future of the environment. For this Shikahogh. For reason, the members of “SOS instance, the acting Shikahogh” continue to closely moni- director of the Critical tor the situation. Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) Dan Inga Zarafian is the President of the Martin and the CEPF Armenian NGO, Ecolur. Ecolur is widely Grant Manager for the known in Armenia for its environmen- Caucasus Hotspot tal activities. The organization is estab- Shikahogh Reserve protects important habitat for another Christopher Holtz trav- lishing a journalists’ network for dis- endangered species, the bezoar goat (Capra aegargrus aegar- eled to Armenia and tributing information about conserva- grus). Photo by H. Ghazaryan. discussed the issue dur- tion-related issues in the country.

Summer 2005, No. 39 31 Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia Researching Forest Raptors on Armenia’s Highest Peak

By Haik Harutunyan, Maro Kochinyan, and Karen Agababyan

t 4,090 meters above sea level, Mt. the population and AAragats is Armenia’s tallest moun- species structure of tain massif. It is located in the central raptors inhabiting part of the republic, in Aragatsotn the forests of Mt. Region, where it is isolated from the Aragats. rest of the country’s mountain ranges. For this reason, the small forest massif In their work, the that covers the mountain’s southern researchers macro-slope is isolated from the rest employed two of Armenia’s forests; the nearest forest methods. They on Mt. Ara is located ten kilometers conducted obser- away. The forest on Mt. Aragats, like vations from fixed other forests in central Armenia, is points to identify residual. It is located at an elevation of raptors’ nesting ter- 2,000-2,200 meters above sea level ritories and then and occupies an area of about five also searched for square kilometers. Although the forest the nests. As a is predominantly comprised of small result of their work, Caucasian oak trees (Quercus macran- the researchers thera), other deciduous trees such as fixed the inhabita- wild plum, wild pear, maple, ash, and tion of the follow- Mt. Aragats. Map by M. Dubinin. artificially planted pine trees are occa- ing species: honey sionally encountered. Sub-alpine buzzard (Pernis apivorus); black kite ranges for the remaining raptor steppe with elements of alpine mead- (Milvus migrans); short-toed eagle species occur here. Various types of ows are situated above the forest, (Circaetus gallicus), which is listed in mating flights, food displays, directed while agricultural areas – primarily the Red Book of the Armenian Soviet flights with food during the nestling grain fields – occupy the land below it. Socialist Republic of 1987; buzzard period, and territorial defense reac- (Buteo buteo); lesser spotted eagle tions suggested nest presence. Despite the relatively small size and (Aquila pomarina); booted eagle Researchers did not observe the isolation of the Aragats forest, as well (Hieraaetus pennatus); sparrow hawk Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo) and it as the diminutive height of its trees, all (Accipiter nisus); and northern is possible that the species is absent diurnal raptor species inhabiting goshawk (Accipiter gentiles). from nesting-sites in this forest. Armenia’s forests can be found here. During the spring and summer of The researchers found nests belonging The researchers conducted their 2005, a group of staff from the to the short-toed eagle, lesser spotted observations from three points along American University of Armenia’s Birds eagle, and buzzard. Based on observa- the road, from where they could sur- of Armenia Project, which included tions of the birds’ behavior during the vey the Aragats forest massif in its the authors of this article, conducted a nesting period, the researchers also entirety. From these observation series of six expeditions to research surmise that nesting and general points, the agricultural areas below Spotlight on the Birds of Armenia Project The Birds of Armenia Project works to research and protect birds and their biotopes in Armenia. The project was established under the auspices of the American University of Armenia in 1993, upon the initiative of Sarkis Akopian, an American industrialist. The project’s first major products were: “A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia,” available in both English (M. S. Adamian and D. Klem, Jr., 1997.) and Armenian (M. S. Adamian and D. Klem, Jr., 2000) languages; and the “Handbook of the Birds of Armenia (M. S. Adamian and D. Klem, Jr., 1999). Beginning in 2001, the Birds of Armenia Project expanded its environmental education activities. Starting in 2004, the project began a two-year-long trial course to identify birds in nature. Fifteen students with various specialties and backgrounds participated in the course the first year and in 2005, the course expanded by 70 people. In addition, project specialists are beginning research on the influence of pesticides and heavy metals on indicator species of wetland birds and birds of prey. Working together with nature conservation NGOs and state institutions, the project hopes to preserve Armenia’s unique avifauna.

32 Russian Conservation News Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia

birds of prey. They are end links in the food chain and harmful substances accumulate in their bodies and adversely affect their reproductive potential.

In addition, some of the people who visit Mt. Aragats bring with them firearms. Although these people primarily shoot at empty bottles (which is also unpleasant, given the amount of broken glass that remains afterwards) who can guarantee that they are able to resist the temptation of shooting a raptor flying overhead?

Based on their investigation, the Buzzard (Buteo buteo) nestling. researchers see the primary impor- Photo by H. Harutunyan. tance of the Mt. Aragats forest to be the high concentration of raptors it The nest of a lesser spotted eagle could also be surveyed. Hunting of supports on a relatively small territory. (Aquila pomarina), found by researchers in the Mt. most of the raptor species – with the The raptors here are also often and Aragats forest. Photo by K. Agababyan. exception of sparrow hawk, northern easily observed. Finally, the forest is goshawk, and honey buzzard – was regularly visited by people from outly- financial support for research work; to observed in these areas numerous ing villages and cities, who are the pri- A. Asatryan, from the Institute of times. mary factors of disturbance affecting Botany, National Academy of Sciences the raptors. These conditions make of the Republic of Armenia, for con- Researchers noted several factors of the area an ideal point for observing sultation; as well as a group of dedi- disturbance affecting the raptors nesting raptors and for carrying out cated project volunteers, who actively inhabiting Mt. Aragats. Their habitat’s ecological education among the local participated in the investigations. close proximity to Yerevan, as well as population. Using raptors as a focal Among them, the authors would like its proximity to road systems, makes point of ecological education, it would to note: Anna and Arpine Yeghiyan, this territory an attractive destination be possible to educate people visiting Siranush Tumanyan, Vilena Bejanyana, for Sunday picnickers. As many as the Mt. Aragats forest about principles Gor Rustamyan, Grigor Janoyan, seven to ten groups, each with five to of conduct in nature. In the future, it Levona Rukhkyan, and Ruben twenty people, may come here on any might also be possible to implement Maliyan. given Sunday. They leave their litter joint activities with the public to clean behind. No one cleans up the territory, the territory and protect the birds. Haik Harutunyan and Maro so the garbage—plastic bags, bottles, Kochinyan are students at Yerevan tin cans, foil—just accumulates. The In conclusion, the authors would like State University. Karen Agababyan is resultant contamination of soil and to express their gratitude to the Birds a Senior Scientist at the American water is particularly detrimental to of Armenia Project for providing University of Armenia.

The small forest massif covering the southern macro-slope of Mt. Aragats provides habitat to representatives of all diurnal raptor species found in Armenia. Photo by H. Harutunyan.

Summer 2005, No. 39 33 Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia Changes in the Diversity of Waterbird Species in Select Important Bird Areas in Armenia

By Nshan Margarian, Mamikon Ghasabyan, and Luba Balyan nder the patronage of BirdLife UInternational, the Armenian Society for the Protection of Birds (ASPB), a local NGO that is working with BirdLife on Armenia's Important Bird Area Program, has worked to des- ignate 18 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Armenia for basic monitoring. This monitoring is intended to provide information on the state of the sites and the pressures affecting them. Overall, Armenia’s Important Bird Area Program aims to identify and protect a network of sites critical for the long term viability of globally threatened bird species across the range of those species for which the site-based approach is appropriate.

Of the IBAs designated in Armenia, five encompass wetland sites. Among Breeding colonies of the Armenian gull (Larus armenicus) are threatened by unsustainable Armenia’s wetland IBAs, three are tourism activity in the region of Lake Sevan. © V. Ananian. located in the Ararat Valley and the Sevan Basin: Lake Sevan, the Metsamor the lake basin and established that the exposed to various types of human River System, and the Armash Fish overwhelming majority of waterfowl disturbance. Foremost among them is Farming Ponds. at Sevan concentrated around the for- the dramatic twenty-meter decline in mer Lake Gilli. its water level. Unauthorized activities Historically, Lake Sevan, the largest including illegal fishing, logging, inland freshwater body in the For most of the twentieth century, the uncontrolled grazing, and rapid resi- Transcaucasian region, and adjacent Masrik River fed Lake Gilli and associ- dential expansion are also affecting Lake Gilli at the southeastern corner of ated bogs and marshes. In 1960, how- the lake’s ecosystem. Poaching is ram- Lake Sevan comprised the primary ever, the government decided to divert pant. The illegal fish catch has even aquatic habitats for a vast number of the Masrik River and drain Lake Gilli to been estimated to surpass the official breeding and non-breeding waterbird enhance agriculture in the region. As a one. Yet, what most endangers the populations. Extensive studies con- result, Lake Gilli disappeared com- remaining waterfowl resources is ducted by the researcher Dal in the pletely and no longer exists as such. motorized boating, which is a real 1940s suggested that the associated Currently, the area is primarily used for scourge on the lake. One fishing lodge wetlands offered ample food resources low-productive agriculture that brings alone harbors up to fifteen motorized and aquatic plants that provided little profit to local farmers. boats that cruise the lake twice daily. excellent forage sites for both breeders This factor of disturbance is present and migrant birds. They determined Despite its protected status, Lake year round and is extremely detrimen- the overall distribution of waterfowl in Sevan has also historically been tal to birds such as the white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala), ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea), com- Armenia: A Hotspot for Avian Diversity mon goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), Positioned at the junction of the Western and Eastern Palearctic biogeograph- and tundra swan (Cygnus ic zones, Armenia allows for the exchange of species from the Far North and columbianus) during their wintering those from the Far South. Hence, the country’s geographical position makes it and migration periods. Tourism is pri- globally important for establishing links in habitat chains, as well as for the marily unsustainable and is practiced preservation of avian diversity. Thanks to the high diversity of habitats at vary- in the most environmentally sensitive ing elevations, 352 bird species classified into 18 orders have been observed areas, which poses a great risk to a within this relatively small geographic region, which totals just 29,793 square large breeding colony of the Armenian kilometers in area. gull (Larus armenicus) during the breeding season.

34 Russian Conservation News Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia

ters and originates with standing and slow-flowing waters. But even this unique matrix of natural wetland patches has begun to lose its avian value due to rapid urban expansion, which has gained momentum over the past decade. Lands adjacent to the Metsamor River are used for agriculture and commercial fish production. They are being converted to small private fish ponds ranging, on average, between 100 and 500 square meters and larger, while wetland drainage and channel excavation is irreversibly altering riparian ecosystems and leading to habitat loss. The Metsamor River System also plays a key role as a waterfowl habitat, wintering, and stopover site for wetland and water-dependent birds such as the common pochard (Aythya ferina), red-crested pochard (Netta rufina), common snipe (Gallinago gallinago), pygmy cor- Change in the diversity of waterbird species in the region of Lake Sevan over time. Graphic morant (Phalacrocorax pygmaeus), provided by the Armenian Society for the Protection of Birds. whiskered tern (Chlidonias hybridus), cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) and little The unsustainable use of Lake Sevan to 54 species, while non-breeders rose crake (Porzana parva), especially now and the drainage of adjacent Lake Gilli from 54 to 68 species. that Lake Sevan and the area of the and its surrounding wetlands former Lake Gilli area offer little refuge destroyed habitat required for breed- In addition to the large fisheries in the to birds. ing and non-breeding populations of Ararat Valley, an especially important waterbirds such as the great cor- area is the extensive Metsamor River The creation in the 1970s of artificial morant (Phalacrocorax carbo), red- and its adjacent wetlands, which is a water impoundments in the Ararat necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) and natural riverine system that has existed Valley helped to restore waterfowl and caused the contraction of waterfowl since time immemorial. Winding other bird species that had disap- resources in the lake basin. Between through the Ararat Valley, the river peared from the Lake Sevan Basin. The the periods 1941-1960 and 1981- extends for approximately 20 kilome- sole refuge for breeding avifauna 2000, breeders in Lake Sevan declined from 60 to 37 species, while non- breeders increased from 49 to 85 species.

At the time that Lake Gilli, a life-giving nursery area for breeding waterfowl, was drained in the 1960s, a series of commercial fish farming ponds were constructed in the arid lands of the Ararat Valley in southwestern Armenia. These ponds attracted and now accommodate most of the breeding and non-breeding waterbirds that once occupied Lake Gilli. In other words, they brought about a redistrib- ution of Armenia’s waterfowl populations and completely altered the overall pattern of waterfowl distribution in the country. Between the periods 1941-1960 and 1981-2000, breeders in the Ararat Valley increased from 42 Change in the diversity of waterbird species in the Ararat Valley over time. Graphic provided by the Armenian Society for the Protection of Birds.

Summer 2005, No. 39 35 Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia

to promote, carry out and/or contribute to the conservation and monitoring of bird species, and to promote the direct involvement of civil society in the conservation of sites important for birds. An established site-based approach in the Lake Sevan Basin ensured the full year-round monitoring of birds, as well as monitoring of the state of these sites and the pressures affecting them. This helps provide early warning about changes and sig- nals the need to take conservation actions to remove common threats.

In view of the rapid urban expansion and intensive agriculture development in the Metsamor River System, public advocacy actions will be taken to inter- pret the importance of habitat changes and land-use impacts affecting differ- Staff members of the Armenian Society for the Protection of Birds conduct an extensive ent species of birds. As important and waterbird census of the Lake Sevan Important Bird Area. © V. Ananian. comprehensive is the educational component of this conservation pro- appears to be the Armash fish farm, wetland patches act as a large transit gram, which aims to promote knowl- which was created in 1975 in the arid and stopover point for migratory edge of the birds, encourage their pro- lands of the Ararat Valley in south- waterfowl. They also serve as one of tection, and establish a long overdue western Armenia. The farm used to be their key wintering habitats in conservation ethic using traditional the largest supplier of commercial fish Armenia. However, these man-made educational tools, personal encounters during the Soviet Era and is still the water impoundments were established and communication, and the mass largest active fishery in the entire with the sole purpose of supplying media. For the Armash Fish Farm, Transcaucasus Region. The fishery’s 29 commercial fish and did not envisage where birds and the threats affecting ponds, each of which ranges from the conservation of birds and their them are fully and comprehensively between 11 and 95 hectares in size, habitat. Although the fish ponds con- monitored, our approach will be to occupy a total of 1,514 hectares. They tributed to the strengthened forma- develop a long-term conservation offer unique habitat for breeding and tion of avian fauna in the country, strategy through the involvement of migratory birds, especially now that birds are not protected on them by the private sector and associated the surrounding wetland ecosystem of law. hunters who utilize the farm’s natural Lake Gilli no longer exists. resources. We aim to develop a long- Today, the Armash Fish Farm is a pri- term management plan for the fishery, Ornithologist V. Ananian maintains vate joint-stock company with inten- which will include sustainable farming that Armash is currently known to sive commercial fish production, practices tailored to bird conservation harbor up to 220 species of birds, which impedes any effective activities needs and to provide for future which comprises over 62% of the total to support the conservation of water- tourism development opportunities as number of bird species in Armenia. birds and associated habitats. Breeding an alternative source of income. Included among these are the breed- waterfowl populations are exposed to ing white-tailed lapwing (Chettusia the increased degradation of their Nshan Margarian and Mamikon leucura), Eurasian spoonbill (Platalea habitat and to illegal bird kills by Ghasabyan are both Senior Scientists leucorodia), gull-billed tern (Sterna poachers and fishery owners who at the Institute of Zoology, within the nilotica), slender-billed gull (Larus shoot fish-eating birds such as peli- Armenian National Academy of genei), and blue-cheeked bee-eater cans, cormorants, egrets and herons, Sciences. Nshan Margarian is also (Merops persicus), as well as two which they see as “potential enemies” the Head of the Department of Ecology species, the marbled teal to their business. at the Educational University in (Marmaronetta angustirostris) and Yerevan, while Mamikon Ghasabyan white-headed duck (Oxyura leuco- ASPB has committed to a program to also serves as the Director of the cephala), which are listed on the IUCN develop the IBA Caretaker Network in Armenian Society for the Protection of Red List as threatened species. the Caucasus; this program is an inte- Birds. Luba Balyan is an International gral part of the IBA conservation pro- Officer and IBA National Coordinator Positioned on one of the valley’s major gram. It aims to establish an effective within the Armenian Society for the flyways, these man-made ponds and network of local people who are able Protection of Birds.

36 Russian Conservation News Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia Research and Conservation of the Persian Leopard in Armenia

By Igor Khorozyan and Alexander Malkhasyan

t was a dreary and misty day in late we might hope to glean about IJanuary, like all other days during the notoriously elusive and this month in the rocky mountains of rare Persian leopard southern Armenia. We hiked over the (Panthera pardus saxicolor). wind-swept trails along the southern slopes, where the snow melts quickly Since prehistoric times, the and wild animals move around more leopard's beauty, strength, and easily. Suddenly, we came across a set grace have evoked a mixture of large, round clawless footprints and of admiration for and fear of other similar, but smaller ones, which its stealthy, nocturnal, and comprised clear tracks stretching cryptic life. African tribes gave along the trail in both directions. this big cat such vivid epithets Scrapes, which were dug into the as: “Gentle hunter, whose tail ground to attract a mate, were numer- plays on the ground while he ous. We made similar finds over the crushes a skull;” “Beautiful course of the next several days, and death, who dons a spotted The current range of the leopard in southwestern and later again in early February and early robe when he goes to his vic- southern Armenia. Map provided by I. Khorozyan and S. March. From these signs, we deduced tim;” and “Playful killer, Asmaryan and adapted by M. Dubinin. that a large male and slender female of whose loving embrace splits the species were moving around to the antelope's heart.” Scientists claim peoples that live side by side with this meet each other. From their fresh that the hypnotizing effect that leop- predator. scats, it appeared that they had been ard spots have on humans is genetical- feeding on wild boar (Sus scrofa) and ly programmed, similar in this way to The Persian leopard is the only large Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix the panic and stupor that snakes felid species still surviving in south- indica). Following the tracks and excite in monkeys. It is not surprising western and southern Armenia, albeit scrapes, we reconstructed a fuller pic- that leopard skin mantles, amulets in meager numbers. Here, the large cat ture: in one place, the male had made of the beast’s teeth and claws, inhabits sparse juniper forests, arid scratched the bark of a Christ's thorn and medicines made from its bones and mountain grasslands, sub-alpine, (Paliurus spina-christi) and left some are so very popular among indigenous and alpine meadows, while it avoids of its fur on the barbs. In another, a semi-desert, nival (abounding with female had dragged a sorrel foal snow), and harsh nival environments. through the barbed-wire fence of an Its current range extends from the abandoned orchard, leaving Khosrov Reserve southwards to the on the barbs blood Arax River on the state border with stains and fur of Iran. As late as the mid-1970s, the the prey, as well leopard also inhabited northern as some of Armenia. The northern boundary of its her own current range stretches along the Azat grey-black- River and along the Geghama and white fur. Vardenis Mountain Ridges. These few observa- According to rough estimates, no tions are more than ten to fifteen leopards, of among the which five to eight are adults, current- most ly live in Armenia. The most stable inform- group of the population is located in ative the southern part of the country, on that the Zangezour, Bargushat and Meghri Ridges, from where they are able to move to and from Azerbaijan's Naxcivan Republic and northwestern Iran. The Zangezour Ridge and its A male Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) in theYerevan Zoo. branches serve as linkages between Photo by A. Malkhasyan. this group and the other group in

Summer 2005, No. 39 37 Conservation in the Caucasus: Spotlight on Armenia

Khosrov Reserve and the Vayots Dzor Thanks to financial sup- Province. port provided by international foundations The primary threats that have brought and zoos, our efforts the leopard to the brink of extinction continue and ensure the in Armenia are disturbance, poaching, quite stable status of the and habitat destruction. More specifi- leopard in Armenia. cally, this entails livestock grazing, edi- However, this situation is ble plant and mushroom gathering, very fragile and can destruction of wildlife by firearms and worsen at anytime if traps, and dry grasses and conifer fires even just one leopard is during the hot summer. All these fac- lost to poaching or tors pose a great risk to the leopard another human factor. and the species upon which it preys, the bezoar goat (Capra aegagrus), For example, recently in Leopard habitat in Khosrov Reserve. Photo by A. Malkhasyan. wild boar, roe deer (Capreolus capreo- 2005, we faced a real lus), Indian crested porcupine, and threat of losing the leopard and other southwestern Armenia and the European hare (Lepus europaeus). biodiversity in southern Armenia Shvanidzor-Nuvadi area in the because of the national Ministry of extreme southern part of the country. Concerned over the fate of the leopard Transportation's plans to build a road, The search for other PLECAs is under- in Armenia, we began researching the the Kapan-Meghri Highway, right way. In this work, we combine field species in 1999-2000 by studying its through the Shikahogh Reserve, which research, lab techniques and GIS diet, feeding competition, and distri- protects habitat important to the mapping. Once we have identified bution. We have since incorporated leopard and its prey. To avert the dan- PLECAs, we will divide them into pri- new research methods, including GIS ger, all available resources were mobi- ority regions, where focused protec- mapping, camera photo-trapping, scat lized to promote cooperation between tion measures will be implemented. It counts and use of lures. We initially the Ministry of Nature Protection, is still premature to specify which began our work in Khosrov Reseve, environmental NGOs, and mass media. measures, such as the creation of pro- and subsequently expanded our study As this road is essential for Armenia, tected areas or strengthened infra- areas to include other important the coalition did not press for the structure, may be realized and when; "hotspots" of the cat's range such as complete cancellation of the project, this will be determined on a case-by- Mt. Gbndasar/Noravank Canyon, but instead insisted that planners case basis. Meghri Region, Vayots Dzor Province, implement a second, less damaging and the Sisian Region. We published a option, which would affect the reserve Leopard conservation activities have number of scientific papers, mono- to a lesser extent. This option would been underway in Armenia since 2002 graphs, and conference proceedings, lengthen the road by seven kilometers and include technical support, raising which are mainly in English. Three (from thirty-five to forty-two kilome- awareness among local people and the years ago, we established a website, ters) and increase costs, but would sig- border guards, and the operation of www.persianleopard.com, which we nificantly shorten the segment of road anti-poaching squads and population regularly update. passing through the reserve (from 16.6 monitoring. These efforts must be to 0.5 kilometers) and reduce the intensified and expanded in their numbers of trees and saplings to be scale. cut (from 19,085 to 681 and from 117,000 to 4,178, respectively). In June Armenian citizens should be proud 2005, policymakers officially adopted that such a wonderful and rare animal the more reserve-friendly option. as the leopard still lives in their country. Hopefully, people are gradually Our ongoing research project aims to coming to understand that a leopard identify and describe Priority Leopard seen for a few seconds in the shadows Conservation Areas (PLECAs), which of the wilderness looks far better than leopards currently and constantly any leopard skin rug or moth-eaten inhabit, and which, therefore, require stuffed specimen in a museum. priority conservation actions. This project is necessary because we must Igor Khorozyan is a Yerevan-based know where the leopard presently freelance researcher of the Persian inhabits in order to direct financial, leopard. Alexander Malkhasyan human, and technical resources works for the Ministry of Nature specifically there. The first candidates Protection of the Republic of Armenia Fresh leopard tracks found on Meghri for PLECA status are the central and and the WWF Caucasus Programme Ridge. Photo by A. Malkhasyan. eastern parts of Khosrov Reserve in Office in Yerevan.

38 Russian Conservation News Endangered Species Endangered Species

Results of Latest Survey Show Tiger Numbers in Russia Stable

Text provided by the Press Service of WWF Russia. esults of the latest full range survey entire region where it is believed tigers Rindicate that tiger numbers in could occur. Though wary of people, Russia appear to be stable, say the and seldom seen, tigers nonetheless coordinators of a 2005 winter effort to leave evidence of their presence with count the animals. After a massive their massive footprints in the snow. winter endeavor to determine distri- With some workers spending months bution and abundance of tigers in the in the field and covering over 21,000 Russian Far East, the last stronghold of kilometers of transects by foot, ski, the Amur, or Siberian tigers, snowmobile, and car, a total of 4,100 researchers report that approximately tracks were recorded, most represent- 334-417 adult tigers remain in the ing multiple tracks of a single individ- region, along with 97-112 cubs. While ual. Researchers mapped out the loca- stressing that results are preliminary, tion of all these tracks, and then esti- the news is welcome relief to tiger mated a minimum number of tigers, conservationists around the world, based on their size and distribution. who have seen spiraling decreases in tiger numbers in other parts of Asia. Dale Miquelle, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Russia To determine numbers of tigers in this Program, and overall coordinator for remote, densely forested land, the project, remarked, “This tiger sur- researchers sent out nearly one thou- vey represents a milestone in coopera- sand field workers to canvass the tive, international conservation efforts, Tiger tracks line a path through the snow. with full political support from both Photo by D. Kuchma © WWF-Russia. regional and national governmental bodies of the Russian Federation, as The last winter survey, conducted in well as financial and technical support 1996, reported 330-371 adult tigers, from the international conservation with 85-105 cubs. “The difference in community.” The project was funded results between 1996 and this survey,” not only by Russia’s Ministry of Natural said Dimitri Pikunov, coordinator of Resources, but by a host of interna- the survey in Primorye, and a well- tional organizations, led by the Save- known specialist on this big cat, “is not the-Tiger Fund, the U.S. Fish and due to a change in numbers, but sim- Wildlife Service’s Rhinoceros and Tiger ply reflects the additional effort we Conservation Fund (both from the made to survey the entirety of tiger U.S.), Britain’s 21st Century Tiger, and range.” Coordinators agree that this the World Wide Fund for Nature survey represents the most extensive (WWF). effort to date to count tigers in Russia.

Sponsors of the 2005 Winter Survey of Amur Tigers • Ministry of Natural Resources of • 21st Century Tiger the Russian Federation • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s • The National Fish and Wildlife Rhinoceros Tiger Conservation Foundation’s Save-the-Tiger Fund, Fund sponsored by Exxon-Mobil • Wildlife Conservation Society • World Wide Fund for Nature (WCS) Tools of a tiger tracker. Photo by D. Kuchma (WWF) • AMUR © WWF Russia.

Summer 2005, No. 39 39 Endangered Species

tion.” John Seidensticker, of the Save- the-Tiger Fund, a partnership between Exxon Mobil, U.S. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, added, “Russia is a bright spot in the conservation of tigers in Asia, and is proof of our belief that a few dedicated individuals, with sufficient motivation and adequate support, can make a difference in the world.”

Coordinators of the survey effort gathered in Vladivostok to present their results, but emphasize that numbers are still preliminary. Still to come will be an assessment of tiger prey species, and a more rigorous analysis of tiger distribution and abundance. According to Miquelle, “Over the next few months, we will be completing the geographic database to ensure A track such as this can say much to an experienced researcher. Photo by D. Kuchma © these data are preserved, and then we WWF-Russia. will begin a more intensive analysis of the data. Results may change slightly, Tiger conservationists around the WWF Russian Far East Office, but we think it’s safe to say that the world were buoyed by these results, declared, “these results are a tribute to population appears stable.” especially since India, once considered the hard work and dedication of con- the greatest stronghold for tigers, is servation organizations and govern- For additional information please con- now under pressure after recent ment officials here in Russia. Despite tact Elena Starostina, WWF-Russia Far reports of tigers completely disappear- massive poaching pressures in the Eastern Branch Press Officer Tel/Fax +7 ing from some of their core tiger 1990s, we have been able to turn back (4232) 41-48-68, Email: reserves. Yuri Darman, Director of the the tide, and retain our tiger popula- [email protected]

Co-operators of the Winter Survey of Amur Tigers • Ministry of Natural Resources, • Directorate for the Protection, Russian Federation Control, and Regulation of the Use of Game in • Main Directorate of Natural (OkhotNadzor) Primorsky Krai Resources Supervision • Institute of Geography, Far (Rosprirodnadzor) Eastern Branch of the Russian • Directorate of Natural Resources Academy of Sciences Supervision (Rosprirodnadzor) in Primorsky Krai • Institute of Biology and Soils, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian • Directorate of Natural Resources Academy of Sciences Supervision (Rosprirodnadzor) in Khabarovsky Krai • Kedrovya Pad Zapovednik • Inspection Tiger • Ussurisky Zapovednik • Khabarovsky Krai Government • Lazovsky Zapovednik • Primorsky Krai Government • Sikhote-Alinsky Zapovednik • Directorate for the Protection, • Bolshe-Khekhtsirsky Zapovednik Control, and Regulation of the • Botchinsky Zapovednik Use of Game (OkhotNadzor) in • World Wide Fund for Nature Khabarovsky Krai (WWF) By night, in the cozy atmosphere of a win- • All-Russia Institute for Wildlife • Wildlife Conservation Society ter hut, a participant in the winter tiger sur- Management (WCS) vey logs his daytime observations on a special form. Photo by D. Kuchma © WWF- Russia.

40 Russian Conservation News Endangered Species Dedicated Conservationist Pioneers Effort to Save Russia’s Aleutian Canada Geese

By Denise Woods, with assistance from Konstantine Zgurovsky and Margaret Williams

n the remote and wild region of when early twentieth century fur farm- The USFWS, in particular, the Alaska IKamchatka, a quiet and modest ers and trappers began releasing Arctic Maritime National Wildlife Refuge – project is underway to restore a and red foxes onto many of the for- the primary agency managing the species that had vanished from the merly predator-free islands within the lands to which the goose is being Russian Far East: the Aleutian Canada goose’s nesting range. The introduced returned – has been a key partner for Goose (Branta canadensis leuco- foxes preyed on the naive birds, which Gerasimov. In fact, it was a batch of pareia). For the last fourteen years, Dr. had no natural defenses, having geese flown by plane from Alaska to Nikolai Gerasimov, a senior scientist at evolved on mammal-free islands. Petropavlovsk that helped to start the the Pacific Institute of Geography, has project in Russia. Just last spring, Dr. been running a captive breeding and By 1938, the Aleutian Canada goose Vernon Byrd, chief biologist at the release project to bring this bird back was thought to be extinct, but in 1962, Refuge, had the chance to visit to its former range in Russia. Since a small population of 200 to 300 indi- Kamchatka and see, for the first time, 1991, Gerasimov has raised over 300 viduals was discovered on remote the Russian captive breeding facility he Aleutian Canada geese at a modest Buldir Island in the western Aleutians and his colleagues had helped to facility he built for this purpose near of Alaska. In 1973, the species was list- establish. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the ed as endangered under the United Kamchatka Peninsula, and released States’ newly established Endangered Gerasimov’s release of additional cap- them onto a fox-free island in the Species Act. Subsequent work by the tive-reared birds in Russia adds greatly Kuril Island chain in the northwest U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to the effort to recover this species. In Pacific. to restore the species has the summer of 2004, he was able to release fifty captive-reared Constantly mustering his creativity Aleutian Canada geese on and skillful diplomacy, Gerasimov has the island of Ikarma, in built the program with the help and the northwest Pacific. At involvement of some unusual allies. least one sighting of Early on in the project, he Gerasimov’s geese (all of them charmed federal border guards are marked) was made on the with his good humor and con- Commander Islands, one of the vinced a local businessman, strongholds of biodiversity in the Anatoly Kovalenkov, to provide Bering Sea. During the 2005 sea- financial assistance and physical son, Dr. Gerasimov and his col- space for the facility. Specialists leagues released more than 70 from the Yagiyama Zoo in Japan juveniles of this nearly extinct also provided help along the way. goose species into the wild. This is After initial support from the Russian the best result posted over the government, operating funds dried up. A pair of Aleutian Canada geese (Branta canaden- course of the entire project. Thanks So committed was Gerasimov to keep- sis leucopareia) tend their chicks at Nikolai to the large number of birds reared ing this operation going, he began to Gerasimov’s breeding facility. this year, Dr. Gerasimov hopes to sell his personal stamp collection to Photo by N. Gerasimov. fulfill his long-standing plan: to generate funds to buy food for the conduct a spring release of birds geese. Hearing of this remarkable involved mainly relocating geese cap- into the wild, so that they might rear effort, World Wildlife Fund lent sup- tured on Buldir Island to other former young in their natural habitat and not port to Gerasimov in 2004, enthusias- nesting sites in the Aleutians. The in the nursery’s enclosures. tically supporting Gerasimov’s plans to Aleutian Canada goose has responded return this species to its full range in resoundingly well to international Denise Woods is a Research Assistant the Bering Sea ecoregion. conservation efforts: in March of 2001, for the World Wildlife Fund’s Bering Sea it was removed from the U.S. federal Ecoregion Program, based in the Historically, the Aleutian Canada goose, list of threatened and endangered Anchorage Alaska field office. one of five subspecies of the familiar wildlife, and the geese now number in Konstantine Zgurovsky is the white-cheeked Canada goose, nested the tens of thousands- a striking con- Coordinator of the Marine Program for on maritime islands from the Alaska servation success story for the USFWS the Far Eastern Branch of WWF. Peninsula, westward along the Aleutian and its partners. Now, Gerasimov Margaret Williams is the Director of Chain, to the Commander and Kuril hopes to contribute to a similar story the WWF Bering Sea Ecoregion Islands of Russia. Its troubles began for Russia. Program.

Summer 2005, No. 39 41 Conservation History Conservation History

Kseniya Golgofskaya Celebrates Fifty Years in Kavkazsky Zapovednik By Tatiana Akatova, Lyudmila Grabenko, and Lyudmila Boichenko seniya Golgofskaya, a scientist at mother moved with Kseniya and her She left for Gorky (now Nizhniy KKavkazsky Zapovednik, spends other child to her sister’s home in Novgorod) in 1943, where she many late nights working in her office. Moscow. From early childhood enrolled in the Institute of Agriculture. The office is very simple: an old table, Kseniya was distinguished by her As soon as she could move to Moscow, at which her husband, Vladislav Kotov, active, inquisitive, and independent Golgofskaya transferred to the once worked; a lamp; and a well-lit nature. She finished high school in Moscow Agricultural Academy, named pile of papers. Along the wall stands a 1941, on the eve of the Great Patriotic after K.A. Timiryazev, where she stud- bookshelf with specialized literature War. During the war, Golgofskaya dug ied in the Department of Decorative and, in the corner, a table with maps. trenches, kept watch from rooftops, Horticulture. Fifty years after her arrival in and deactivated firebombs and shells. Kavkazsky Zapovednik, Kseniya When the Germans came close to Kseniya first traveled to the Caucasus Golgofskaya is still busy working for Moscow, her family lost their home region for her undergraduate field the reserve and carrying out important during a bombing raid. They were work. In Adler, by Sochi on the Black work: the creation of a detailed geob- then evacuated from the capital to the Sea, Kseniya saw a true wonder of otantic map of the zapovednik’s forest Orenburg Region, in the Ural landscape architecture, the park belt. Mountains, where Ksenyia worked on “Yuzhniye Kultury” [Editor’s note: a collective farm. There she learned to Yuzhniye Kultury Dendrological Park Kseniya Golgofskaya was born on manage horses, a skill that would serve is a 21.5 hectare landscape-style February 9, 1924, in Yaroslavl, not far her well years later in Kavkazsky park, which was established in Adler from Moscow. Her father, a doctor, Zapovednik. The war continued, but during the period 1910-1912. In this died when she was young, and her Kseniya decided to return to school. issue of RCN, we feature an article on the park, which is federally protected.] . She wrote and defended her thesis on the topic “Research and a Project to Reconstruct Yuzhniye Kultury Park.”

Having received her diploma on December 1, 1949, she enrolled in a graduate program at the Institute of Forestry of the USSR Academy of Sciences, in the Laboratory of Forest Typology headed by V.N. Sukachev. In 1954, she defended her dissertation on “Types of Gully Fringe Forests in the Northern Part of Voroshilovgrad Region” and left for the taiga [Editor’s note: Voroshilovgrad Region, in eastern Ukraine, was A young Kseniya Golgofskaya surveys the territory of Kavkazsky Zapovednik, where she has lived and worked renamed Luhansk Region for a half-century. Photo provided by Kavkazsky Zapovendik. in 1990.] She worked as a

42 Russian Conservation News Conservation History

reserve as a Senior office to meet with him. Knowing that Scientist specializing in I was going to be working at the geobotany. zapovednik, the men began to playful- ly tease me. ‘What are you here for? “The years have washed We don’t need women. We have many of life’s moments mountains, and the work is rough. from my memory, but You had better get back to Moscow, there are some events and right away!’ But then, the Deputy that live on clearly and Director for Science, in complete seri- vividly in my heart, as if ousness, sternly warned me, ‘The work they happened only yes- here is difficult. There will be no pam- terday,” recalls eighty- pering and no indulgences. one year old Kseniya Expectations for everyone are the Golgofskaya. “My first same: not to snivel.’” arrival in Maikop [Editor’s note: one of In Kavkazsky Zapovednik, Kseniya Kavkazsky Zapovednik’s Golgofskaya threw herself into her two units is headquar- work with characteristic enthusiasm. tered in Maikop.] in Together with V. N. Aleksandrov, a 1955 is firmly lodged in zoologist and senior scientist at the my memory. I made my reserve, she studied the status of the way from the train sta- forage base for bison and other ungu- tion to the reserve by lates in the reserve. hopping a ride on a passing truck. It was Golgofskaya fondly recalls her first early February, the peak guide and assistant, Boris of winter, but the region Artamonovich Zaslavsky, an extraordi- was experiencing a rare nary and surprising person. When they spell of warm weather. first met, he took a good, long look at Kseniya Golgofskaya at home in the dense forests of People were out walk- her and announced, quite gallantly, Kavkavsky Zapovednik. Photo provided by Kavkazsky Zapovendik. ing the streets in light “Well, then, madam, I shall deliver you jackets and sweaters. with kid gloves.” “And then we were junior scientist on the staff of a Wearing my warm, fur-collared winter on our way,” recalls Golgofskaya. “We detachment of the Tuva coat, and carrying a pair of skis, I was a were headed for the glades of Mt. Comprehensive Expedition, which curiosity that attracted was organized by the USSR Academy stares from surprised of Sciences’ Council for the Study of passersby. Those skis, a Productive Strength. The detachment small bundle of things, and leader wrote of her: “Young Kseniya a few books bound togeth- Golgofskaya possesses deep knowl- er by a ligature were all the edge of forest geobotanics, silvicul- belongings I had to my ture, and adjoining sciences. While name. I had left Moscow heading the forest station, she demon- behind me. Also behind me strated herself to be an energetic, were my graduate studies, enterprising, and tireless researcher. the defense of my disserta- Kseniya is an excellent, tactful tion, and a year of expedi- tovarisch, who has won the affection tion work in Tuva, in the of all detachment members.” western Sayan Mountains. Ahead of me lay the sheer One day, while attending an exhibit in romanticism of the Moscow, Kseniya saw a display with unknown: an unfamiliar information about Kavkazsky place, new people, interest- Zapovednik. She recalled the rich and ing work…. incompletely studied nature of southern Russia where she, a geobotanist, I made my way to the might find work. “I decided that I reserve’s headquarters for needed to go there; and I saw my an appointment with the future there and only there,” said director. Two other mem- Kseniya Golgofskaya has spent almost her entire life work- Golgofskaya. In 1955, her dream came bers of the staff were ing in the harsh field conditions in the Caucasus true as she began working at the already waiting outside his Mountains. Photo provided by Kavkazsky Zapovendik.

Summer 2005, No. 39 43 Conservation History

Kseniya Golgofskaya, a geobotanic, and her colleague at Kavkazsky Zapovednik, a soil scientist, conduct complex field research. Photo provided by Kavkazsky Zapovendik.

Alous. In our movement along our in the mountains for months at a head from the unexpectedness of their route, we observed strict protocol: time—we were a sight to behold. presence, but Boris Artamonovich Boris Artamonovich went on up ahead Once geologists working on the quickly threw up his hand with his cli- with his small, quick-footed horse zapovednik’s territory nearly took nometer, the tool he had been using to Malchik, while I brought up the rear. Zaslavsky and me for vagabonds or make his measurements. This gave the We went primarily on foot, leading our foreign saboteurs. Only by showing appearance that he was taking aim at pack horses on lead ropes. When we our identification cards were we able our unexpected ‘guests’ with some sort stopped, we stopped out of concern to convince them that we were actual- of firearm. And like the wind, they for the horses and not to rest our- ly scientists. Back then we didn’t have blew off, and we just burst out laugh- selves. Boris Artamonovich wasn’t very sleeping bags. We slept in our quilted ing with relief.” talkative and it seemed that he was jackets by a campfire. One night, completely indefatigable, despite his when we were sleeping in a shelter we Kseniya Golgofskaya, a delicate look- considerable age. He would seldom sit, had made using a wind-fallen tree, the ing woman, spent long periods in the but instead stood leaning on a gnarled tree roots beneath us ignited from the mountains and made many difficult stick. ‘Boris Artamonovich, sit,’ I heat of our campfire. We were barely treks while studying and classifying would say. He would answer, ‘Thank able to throw our things to safety and the zapovednik’s forest types, per- you, I have already sat my share,’ and slip out ourselves before the whole forming geobotanical cartography, dis- not a word more. When night began structure went up in flames. There was tricting the reserve’s territory, and to fall, my legs were already buckling one occasion when, thanks to Boris studying the dynamics of forest vege- from hunger and exhaustion. I slowly Artamonovich’s resourcefulness, we tation and its determining factors. began to chew on clover and other escaped what could have become an “What were my first impressions of the grasses, embarrassed to admit to Boris unpleasant encounter with poachers. zapovednik’s natural world? I was Artamonovich that I was tired and We had stumbled upon them in the amazed by its forests. These weren’t wanted so badly to eat. He just kept Urushtena River Valley, where we had the familiar birches outside of striding on ahead. been inventorying sample areas and Moscow; they weren’t the rare gully Boris Artamonovich had been measur- fringe forests of the steppe; and they He and I went on many trips together ing the heights of trees. We were weren’t the larch forests of the Sayan and shared many memorable and unarmed. [Editor’s note: According to Mountains. That was all I had seen humorous moments. We had no spe- technical safety procedures, zapoved- prior to these breathtakingly majestic cial equipment, and because field nik staff were required to carry rifles primeval wilds. It may be for this rea- work was long—sometimes we were for self-defense purposes.] I lost my son that I chose to devote my life’s

44 Russian Conservation News Conservation History work to the comprehensive study of match; rain and blizzards; a warm fire forest communities, one of the more at a campsite somewhere under a star- complex biological systems.” ry sky or a crown of silver fir, by a care- fully crafted lath shelter; the ringing of As a result of her field investigations, a bell around the neck of a horse graz- Golgofskaya compiled a list of the ing in dewy grass. And encounters zapovednik’s dendroflora, and later with glacier caps crowning rocky the flora of its forest belt. In the mountain peaks and glistening in the 1970s, when field station work began morning sun.” at Kavkazsky Zapovednik, Golgofskaya was involved in organizing the biogeo- Golgofskaya has traversed the cenolgical field station. Upon her ini- zapovednik’s territory many times, tiative, and with participation by a and not just along beaten paths. phytopathologist at the reserve, the There is practically no corner of this zapovednik created a microbiological deep wilderness that she has not laid laboratory and began studying bacteri- eyes on. “My very favorite places in al epiphytology in the zapovednik’s the zapovednik,” she writes, “are the forests. Golgofskaya with other staff Malaya Laba River Valley and the studied the subject: “Predators-ungu- Umpyr cordon and its surroundings. lates-pasture.” It was precisely here, in these places, A recent photograph of Kseniya that I felt most comfortable. These Golgofskaya. Photo by V. Gorchakov. While working in the zapovednik, are sublime and peaceful landscapes Golgofskaya has published more than that evoke from me now a sense of Kavkazsky State Biosphere 100 scientific and popular-scientific great nostalgia. My entire life has been Zapovednik and to Russia’s protected articles, compiled a monograph of spent here, in the zapovednik,” she area system as a whole. In 2002, on flora in the forest belt, and, with V. says. “Everything is linked to it. It is the occasion of the eighty-fifth Kotov and A. Bannikov, authored a impossible for me to separate my anniversary of Russia’s protected area brochure, “Kavkazsky Zapovednik” work from my personal life. Here in system, she was awarded a certificate (Moscow: Znaniye, 1967). A gifted the reserve I enjoyed my first success- of recognition by the Ministry of writer, smitten with the wild nature of es in science and met many interest- Natural Resources for her great contri- the western Caucasus region, she pub- ing people, including my husband, bution to the development of protect- lished a number of sketches about the Vladislav Andreevich Kotov. Our ed area affairs in the Russian region’s protected areas in the journal daughter Tanya, now a senior scientist Federation. In 2004, on the occasion “Literaturnaya Adygea.” They present- at the zapovednik, was born in of her eightieth birthday, the Ministry ed reliable information and were a Maikop. I am watching my grandchil- conferred her with the Merited Sign of tribute of her love for the zapovednik dren grow up. They, too, are interest- the Ministry of Natural Resources of and the memory of her husband, an ed in science.” the Russian Federation “for service to outstanding zoologist who was killed protected area affairs.” by an avalanche while performing offi- In addition to her scientific research, cial zapovednik duties. Golgofskaya also actively participated When asked what the zapovednik in the life of the zapovednik. She took means to her, Kseniya Golgofskaya Many of Golgofskaya’s experiences are part in creating an exhibit in the answers, “It is a small piece of our vast preserved in her journals. “Journals reserve’s museum, participated in native land, Russia. For me, it is also a are a scientist’s memory,” says nature conservation educational activ- cathedral, a large cathedral of the soul Golgofskaya. “They preserve fresh, ities, and prepared materials about the and heart, free from human vanity and bright impressions of the past, not history of the zapovednik and its staff. fuss, baseness, greed, envy, malice, and overshadowed by subsequent events She is conscientious in her approach betrayal. For me, it isn’t work, but life and occurrences. I thumb through the to her work and always willing to help itself, my home, my family.” pages of my journals and in my imagi- people. Among the zapovednik’s staff, nation the past comes alive: acquain- Golgofskaya has always been a leader, Tatiana Akatova, Kseniya tances; landscapes dear to my heart; involving herself in the organization of Golgofskaya’s daughter, is a Senior magnificent sunrises and sunsets; various celebrations and subbotniks. [A Scientist at Kavkazky Zapovednik. slumbering clouds and river valleys; subbotnik is a day of voluntary, unpaid Lyudmila Grabenko previously encounters with animals; treks along labor. Trans.] and, in hard times, rally- worked as an Environmental forested and meadow slopes; the mur- ing the staff. People like Kseniya Education Specialist at Kavkazsky mur of streams and rivers; the roar of Golgofskaya are the foundation of the Zapovednik and now is a teacher at a waterfalls; forest thickets, alive with a reserve. school in Maikop. Lyudmila chorus of birds and fragrant with pine Boichenko works as an Environmental resin; the bugle of elk and the clatter Kseniya Golgofskaya has made an Education Specialist at the reserve. of their antlers during a rut sparring enormous personal contribution to

Summer 2005, No. 39 45 Conservation History “Protection of Nature is Protection of the Fatherland”

Just days after heads of state from around the world gathered on Red Square this past May 9 to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of Allied victory in World War II, a unique exhibit dedicated to Russian nature conservation organizations’ contributions to the war effort opened in Moscow. The exhibit, called “Protection of Nature is Protection of the Fatherland,” was held in the Nature Conservation Pavilion of Moscow’s All-Russia Exhibit Center. The exhibit ran from May 15 - May 30, 2005. It was jointly organized by Moscow’s Department of Nature Use and Environmental Protection; the Moscow Center for Environmental Education, Awareness, and Propaganda; the Federal Service for Oversight in the Sphere of Nature Use; and the International Association for Cultural and Humanitarian Linkages. Visitors on opening day of the “Protection of Nature is Protection of the Fatherland” exhibit. Photo by A. Troitsky. Large thematic posters about the military and labor achievements of Russia’s zapovedniks and the Moscow Zoo during the war comprised the centerpiece of the exhibit. The posters featured unique photographs and factual and cartographic material about the war era.

Russian Conservation News is please to present our readers with select photographic materials from these posters, as well as adapted versions of the poster texts. These materials were graciously provided to us by Yulia Goreleva, the Director of the Nature Conservation Pavilion at the All-Russia Exhibit Center. Zapovedniks and the War Effort During the war, thousands of zapovednik staff members, both scientists and rangers, left for the front. In reserves located further from battle and occupation zones, those who remained behind played an important role both in con- tinuing their reserve’s activities—during the war not a single zapovednik was closed—and in contributing to the war effort.

Throughout the war, staff of these zapovedniks remained vigilant in their efforts to combat poaching on their reserve’s territory. Even when food and other resources were in short supply, poaching was considered an intolerable violation of a reserve’s protection regime.

Even during the war years, scientific research Science also continued in the reserves. Despite the unthinkable hardships grip- continued in Russia’s zapovedniks. ping the country, the government continued to finance research activities in Photo provided courtesy of the Nature Conservation the zapovedniks, although it did curtail some scientific programs and adapt Pavilion of Moscow’s All-Russia Exhibit Center. others to support more directly the needs of the national economy. In late 1943, for instance, the Main Directorate for Zapovedniks approved a scientific program for 1944 that included strategic research topics such as: geological and geographic surveying; prospecting for rare and defense-related minerals; determining the quantity and distribution of plants with medicinal, industrial, and commercial value; researching methods of reforestation in felled and burnt areas; and studying the ecology of commercially valuable animal species.

In addition to performing their traditional scientific and protection tasks, zapovednik staff also assisted the front line. They gathered and prepared medicinal plants, mushrooms, and berries; and baked bread that was delivered to Soviet troops. They also contributed money to support a squadron of planes appropriately called “Sovietskiye Zapovedniki,” or “Soviet Zapovedniks.”

Although the government’s prevailing position during the war was that the reserves’ main goal should be to preserve nature, it did approve limited utilization of natural resources in a number of zapovedniks to address urgent needs. The government allowed timber harvest in Kavkazsky, Buzuluksky Bor, Ilmensky, and Mordovsky Zapovedniks, among other reserves. During the war period, the zapovedniks contributed approximately 700,000 cubic meters of timber to the war efforts, with about half the logging taking place in Ilmensky Zapovednik, in the southern Ural Mountains.

46 Russian Conservation News Conservation History Along Partisan Trails The fighters of the Russian Resistance movement, who were known as partisans, had a major impact on the course of the war. They operated over an immense territory stretching from the Estonian-Russian border in northwestern Russia to the Crimea in the south. Partisans engaged in classic guerilla activity. They stealthily attacked the German Army in the rear, destroyed military property, damaged communication and supply lines, and provided valuable reconnaissance. Well knowing the local territory, they had a significant advantage over the enemy, despite the fact that the Germans were generally better equipped.

Among Russian zapovedniks existing during the war, the following were located in battle and occupation zones: Tsentralno-Lesnoi (Tver Oblast), Tsentralno-Chernozemny (Kursk Oblast), Krymsky (on the Crimean Men, women, and children joined Russia’s Penninsula, now part of Ukraine), Tulskiye Zaseki (Tula Oblast), Resistance movement. These “partisans” has an Voronezhsky (Voronezh), Kavkazsky (Krasnodar Krai), and Teberdinsky important impact on the course of the war. (Republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia). Staff of these reserves frequently Photo provided courtesy of the Nature participated in partisan activity. Conservation Pavilion of Moscow’s All-Russia Exhibit Center. The partisan involvement of Krymsky Zapovednik’s staff is particularly notable. The reserve’s former director, A. V. Mokrousov led a partisan detachment in which most of the reserve’s staff participated. Hearty and used to living and working in severe conditions, they spent long periods at a time in the mountains and were able to inflict appreciable damage to German troops in the region. The zapovednik’s partisan brigade did not escape without losses. In one skirmish with German soldiers, the life of ecologist Vladislav Bukovsky came to a tragic but heroic end. He bravely fought, but realizing circumstances were not in his favor, he used his last grenade to kill himself and his enemies.

Battle for the Caucasus German military strategists placed particular importance on capturing the Caucasus Region, which offered access to rich agricultural lands and to Soviet oil fields in Maikop, Grozny, and Baku. The Germans launched their drive for the Caucasus on July 25, 1942, and by mid-August of that same year, much of the northwestern Caucasus had fallen into enemy hands. Ultimately hoping to penetrate the Trans-Caucasian front and reach the Black Sea, German troops began their advance over high mountain passes in Soviet soldiers advance toward victory in the Caucasus. Photo pro- the Main Caucasus Range, an operation termed “Edelweiss.” vided courtesy of the Nature Conservation Pavilion of Moscow’s All- This brought the war home to Kavkazsky Zapovednik. Russia Exhibit Center.

Reserve staff, who were excellent trailblazers and mountaineers, and who knew the region well, actively participated in the opposition movement. Kavkazsky Zapovednik observers (the equivalent of present-day inspectors) came to the aid of the Soviet Army. They led Soviet soldiers along mountain paths to firing positions and often participated in battles themselves. Having guided a platoon of mortar men to the village of Khamyshki, two observers thus participated in the liberation of the small mountain community. For their selfless contributions, zapovednik staff members earned the highest appraisal both from Soviet Army Command and from partisan brigades.

Reserve staff also performed remarkable feats of bravery to preserve the zapovednik’s unique population of mountain bison. During the war years, the reserve’s bison herd numbered just nine individuals and was kept in an enclosure called the “bison park.” During the summer of 1942, the Germans bombed the bison park four times. When the enemy neared, seven zapovednik staff – including four women and two children – who were caring for and protecting the animals, drove the bison to safety in the reserve’s most remote units. Often risking their own lives, they never left the bison unsu- pervised, camouflaged them when necessary, and fed them, sometimes delving into their own meager food stores. [Note from the editor: The text of the preceding paragraph did not appear on any of the original exhibit posters, but was included in a speech that protected areas expert Vsevolod Stepanitsky delivered at the exhibit’s opening ceremony.] By early January 1943, the battle for the Caucasus took a decisive turn. The Soviet Army went on the offensive and succeeded in turning back the German advance. Although the Germans had fallen just a kilometer and half short of reach- ing the zapovednik’s headquarters, which were then located in Guzeripol, Kavkazsky Zapovednik staff succeeded in completely restoring the reserve’s protection regime by February 3, 1943.

Summer 2005, No. 39 47 Conservation History The Moscow Zoo during the War Years On July 21, 1941, the German Lutwaffe launched its first bombing raid on Moscow, with 73 subsequent raids on Russia’s capital to follow throughout that year. The Moscow Zoo was bombed for the first time during the late evening hours of July 22-23, 1941, when more than 500 fire bombs and 10 demolition bombs fell on the zoo’s territory.

The zoo’s animals reacted in various ways to the bombing raids. Although some carnivorous mammals paid little attention to the explosions, other species were extremely frightened by the bombing and died from stress or wounds. During one of the initial raids, a par- rot lost a leg on glass shards. After that, zoo officials decided to evacuate the most valuable parrots to a city, During the war years, a military unit and anti-aircraft gun were installed which at the time, they considered to be less imperiled, at the Moscow Zoological Park. Photo from the archives of the Moscow Stalingrad. [Editor’s note: In 1942, Stalingrad, or Zoological Park and provided courtesy of the Nature Conservation Volgograd, as the city is now known, would become the Pavilion of Moscow’s All-Russia Exhibit Center. site of one of the war’s bloodiest battles.] The animals that remained in the zoo throughout the war lived in far from ideal conditions. Shortages and decreased funding forced zoo staff to cut animals’ daily rations and decrease enclosure temperatures. Animals inhabiting the zoo’s “Island of Beasts,” a new territory opened shortly before the war, were transferred back to the old territory to make way for a military unit and anti-aircraft gun that were installed there. The only animal to remain on the “Island of Beasts” was a black bear named Zoyka. Zoyka had already retreated to her den for the winter when zoo staff began evacuating the island’s other animals, and when she emerged from hibernation that spring, she so charmed the soldiers stationed there with her tricks and efforts to beg for food, that she remained on the island until the end of the war. Other zoo animals made their own contributions to the war For the Moscow Zoo, the birth of a baby hippopotamus, effort. Some animals, such as camels, were enlisted as beasts of August, was a bright spot in 1943. Photo from the archives of burden. The Moscow City Council (Mossovet) also issued a reso- the Moscow Zoological Park and provided courtesy of the lution approving the slaughter of some animals whose flesh they Nature Conservation Pavilion of Moscow’s All-Russia Exhibit considered edible. Center. Although the zoo’s staff decreased significantly during the war— from 750 people before the war, to 225 just following the initial bombing raids, and even fewer as the war wore on—the zoo remained open practically throughout the entire course of the war, with soldiers receiving free admission. Although the war years were a very difficult period for the zoo, there were moments of joy and cause for celebration. In August 1943, for instance, the zoo welcomed the birth of a baby hippopotamus, appropriately named August.

Before the war, camel-drawn carriage rides were a popular at attraction at the Moscow Zoo. The military, it seems, borrowed from this experience: the camel train pictured to the right made it almost all the way to Berlin! Photos provided courtesy of the Nature Conservation Pavilion of Moscow’s All-Russia Exhibit Center.

48 Russian Conservation News CONSERVATION CONTACTS

Altaisky Zapovednik. Artybash, Turachaksky District, Altai Kavkazsky Zapovednik. Ulitsa Karla Marksa 8, Sochi, Adlersky Republic, Russia 649154. Tel/Fax: +7 (388-43) 2-74-35. Email: District, Krasnodarsky Krai, Russia 354340. Tel/Fax: +7 (862-2) 44- [email protected]. 52-65. Email: [email protected]. Internet: http://www.kgpbz.ru/.

Armenia Tree Project, Armenia. Susan Yacubian Klein, President, ATP Khakassky Zapovednik. Ulitsa Krylova 47 “A”, P.O. Box 189, Abakan, Foundation. Arshakunyats Street 57/5, Yerevan, Armenia 375025. Tel: Republic of Khakassia, Russia 655017. Tel/Fax: +7 (095) 390-22-5-89-38. 374-1-44-74-01. Fax: +374 1-44-77-26. Email: Email: [email protected]. Internet: http://www.reserve.khakasnet.ru/. [email protected]: http://www.armeniatree.org. Igor Khorozyan. Freelance Researcher. Email: [email protected]. Armenia Tree Project, USA. Jeff Masarjian, Executive Director. Jason Internet: http://www.persianleopard.com. Sohigian, Deputy Director. 65 Main Street, Watertown, MA, USA 02472. Tel: +1 (617) 926-8733. Fax: +1 (617) 926-0006. Alexander Malkhasyan. Ministry of Nature Protection and WWF Email: [email protected] and [email protected]. Internet: Caucasus Programme Office, Yerevan, Armenia. Email: amalkhasyan@wwf- http://www.armeniatree.org. caucasus.am.

Birds of Armenia Project. American University of Armenia. Ulitsa Gohar Oganezova. Head Specialist, Institute of Botany of the National Marshala Bagramyana 40. Yerevan, Armenia. Tel: +374-10-512-520, 512- Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia. Yerevan, Armenia 518. Fax: +374-10-287-922. Email: [email protected]. 375063. Tel: +374 10-61-42-41. Email: [email protected]. Internet: http://www.aua.am/boa. Pacific Environment. David Gordon, Executive Director. 311 California Biodiversity Conservation Center (BCC). Ulitsa Vavilova 41, Office 2, St., Suite 650, San Francisco, California, USA 94104-2608. Tel: +1(415) Moscow, Russia 117312. Tel: +7 (095) 124-50-22, 124-50-11. Fax: +7 399-8850. Fax: +1 (415) 399-8860. Email: [email protected]. (095) 124-71-78. Email: [email protected]. Internet: Internet: http://www.pacificenvironment.org. http://www.biodiversity.ru. Volzhsko-Kamsky Zapovednik. Raifa, Zelenodolsky District, Republic Bolonsky Zapovednik. Ulitsa Amurskaya 14, Amursk, Khabarovsky of Tartarstan, Russia 422537. Tel/Fax: +7 (84371) 3-47-24. Email: Krai, Russia 682640. Tel/Fax: +7 (421-42) 2-76-89. Email: [email protected]. Internet: http://www.sopkgu.narod.ru/vkgpz.htm. [email protected]. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Bering Sea Ecoregion Program. Irina Chebakova. Micro-region “B”, Building 31, Apartment 53, Troitsk, Denise Woods, Research Assistant. 406 G Street, Suite 303, Anchorage, Moskovskaya Oblast, Russia 142191. Tel: +7 (095) 232-1214. Email: Alaska USA 99501. Tel: +1 (907) 279-5504. Fax: +1 (907) 279-5509. [email protected]. Email: [email protected].

Ecolur. Inga Zarafian, President. Tel: (37490) 22-07-64 (Cell); (37410) WWF Caucasus Programme Office in Armenia. Dr Karen Manvelyan, 39-99-42 (Home). Email: [email protected]. Director. Ulitsa Bagramyan 24d, Fifth Floor, Yerevan, Armenia 375019. Tel: +374 1-58-70-79. Fax: +374 1-58-70-79. Dr. Rafael Hovhannisyan. Director, Institute of Hydroecology and Email: [email protected]. Ichthyology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia. Ulitsa Bagramyan 24d, Yerevan, Armenia 375019. Tel/Fax: WWF-Russia, Far Eastern Office. Elena Starostina, Press Officer. Ulitsa +374 10-56-85-54. Email: [email protected]. Verkhneportovaya 18a, Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai, Russia 690003. Tel: +7 (4232) 41-48-68. Fax: +7 (4232) 41-45-03. Email: [email protected] . International Socio-Ecological Union (SEU). Sergei Krichevsky, Coordinator of SEU’s Program for the Environmental Safety of Rocket and Zyuratkul National Park. Ulitsa Sovietskaya 15, Satka, Chelyabinskaya Space Activity. Post Office Box 211, Moscow, Russia 119019. Tel: +7 (095) Oblast, Russia 456910. Tel: +7 (351-61) 3-21-83. Email: 963-54-20. Email (for S. Krichevsky): [email protected]. Internet: [email protected]. http://www.seu.ru. Internet: http://www.zuratkul.ru/common/index.htm.

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Раздел I. Особо охраняемые природные территории пытаются решать как природоохранная и научная обществен- Воспоминания о начале «Марша парков» в России. Мар- ность, так и правительственные структуры Армении. гарет Вильямс. Нынешний 2005 - год подведения итогов од- Победа в заповеднике «Шикахох». Инга Зарафян. Раска- ной из самых популярных российских природоохранных ак- ленная земля – так переводится название уникального заповед- ций - «Марш парков». Один из авторов идеи и начинателей ника на юге Армении – Шикахоха. В ноябре 2004 г. Правитель- Марша – Маргарет Вильямс - делится воспоминаниями и ство Армении приняло решение о строительстве автомагистра- размышлениями об истории, развитии событий и результатах Акции. ли Капан – Мегри, часть которой предполагалось провести через Шика- «Марш парков» - 10 лет в России. Ирина Чебакова. Почти 10 лет хохский заповедник. Несмотря на отсутствие необходимых документов и всеми организационными мероприятиями и информационным обеспе- экологической экспертизы, строительные работы по прокладке дороги чением Акции занималась Ирина Чебакова, работавшая в Центре охраны были начаты. Вся природоохранная общественность встала на защиту за- дикой природы и являвшаяся координатором этого успешного проекта. поведника, и Правительство было вынуждено отменить ошибочное ре- Мнение Ирины о проделанной работе и взгляд на Акцию «изнури» в на- шение. шей статье. Исследования лесных хищных птиц самой высокой горы Арме- Марш парков – 2005. Вести из заповедников и национальных нии. Айк Арутюнян, Маро Кочинян, Карен Агабабян. Самый высо- парков. В репортажах из Кавказского, Хакасского, Волжко-Камского, Ти- кий горный массив Армении – Арагац (4090м н.у.м.), находится в цен- гирекского, Болоньского заповедников и национального парка «Зюрат- тральной части Республики достаточно изолирован от остальных хреб- куль» рассказывается о некоторых событиях Марша парков этого года. тов. Также изолирован и небольшой лесной массив, покрывающий Дендрологический парк «Южные культуры»: историческая и при- южный макросклон горы, где участниками проекта “Птицы Армении” родная жемчужина Черноморского побережья. Людмила Бойчен- Американского Университета в Армении были обнаружены все виды ко, Светлана Попова и Рита Мелконян. Генерал, вице-губернатор дневных хищных птиц, населяющих леса Республики. О своих наблюде- Петербурга Даниил Васильевич Драчевский захотел украсить террито- ниях рассказывают участники 6 орнитологических экспедиций. рию вокруг своего, выигранного в карты, адлерского имения «Случай- Изменение видового разнообразие околоводных и водоплава- ное», и сделал это, оставив в наследство многим поколениям города Сочи ющих птиц на отдельных ключевых орнитологических террито- прекрасный дендрологический парк. В 70-е годы в парке насчитывалось риях Армении. Ншан Маргарян, Мамикон Касабян и Люба Балян. более 1000 видов, форм и сортов растений. Но, начиная с 1983 года, Армянская природоохранная общественность совместно с международ- здесь пронеслись несколько смерчей, от которых пострадало около 3000 ной организацией BirdLife International осуществляет Программу «Клю- деревьев. Авторы статьи рассуждают о необходимости реконструкции и чевые орнитологические территории Армении» Из 18 выделенных клю- возрождения парка, о вариантах решения проблем. чевых территорий 5 являются водно-болотными угодьями. В статье рас- Алтайский заповедник неожиданно нашел партнера в Росави- сказывается о 3 из них. Особое внимание уделяется влиянию человечес- акосмосе. Мелисса Муза с помощью директора Алтайского запо- кой деятельности на разнообразие водоплавающих и околоводных птиц ведника Вячеслава Трегубовича. Космические ракеты оставляют на этих ключевых территорий. Земле вполне реальный след в виде химического загрязнения и пада- Изучение и сохранение переднеазиатского леопарда в Армении. ющих ступеней в несколько тонн весом. Территория Алтайского заповед- Игорь Хорозян и Александр Малхасян. По оценкам экспертов на тер- ника с его девственной природой – один из наиболее загрязняемых ос- ритории Армении сейчас живут не более 10-15 особей леопарда. При- татками ракет участков. Об этой проблеме и принимаемых мерах по ее чины, приведшие вид на грань вымирания – уничтожение мест обита- решению в публикуемом интервью. ния, подрыв кормовой базы, браконьерство и беспокойство. Озабо- ченные судьбой леопарда, авторы начали изучение вида, выявление на- Раздел II. Новости неправительственных организаций иболее важных районов обитания животных, мониторинг их численнос- За экологическую безопасность ракетно-космической деятель- ти, разработка мер охраны, просветительская работа с местным населе- ности. Сергей Кричевский. Ракетно-космическая деятельность, поми- нием и пограничниками. мо всем известной пользы, и вклада в развитие человечества, сопровож- дается нарастанием экологической опасности и ущерба для человека и Раздел IV. Виды животных и растений, находящиеся под угрозой природы, массовыми нарушениями прав граждан. Об этой проблеме ин- исчезновения формируют специалисты-экологи неправительственной организации Результаты учетов показали – амурский тигр удерживает пози- МСоЭС, разработавшие и реализующие специальную программу «За эко- ции. Материал предоставлен пресс-службой WWF. Результаты логическую безопасность РКД». последнего учета амурского тигра, проведенного зимой 2005 года на Гражданское общество, экологические организации и президент всем ареале, показали, что его численность в России стабильна. Ученые Путин. Давид Гордон. В июле президент Российской Федерации В.В. заявляют, что на Дальнем Востоке сейчас обитают 334-417 взрослых осо- Путин встретился с руководителями российских общественных органи- бей и 97-112 тигрят. Это говорит о стабильности популяции вида на этой заций. Комментарии президента о международном финансировании и территории, в отличие от других частей Азии, где численность тигра по- будущем российском экологическом законодательстве усилил многие из прежнему сокращается. Такая стабильность - результат усилий многих самых острых опасений, которые возникли ещё в начале его правления. любителей природы, спонсоров со всего мира. Заслуженный эколог инициирует и много лет осуществляет ра- Раздел III. Специальный раздел: Охрана природы на Кавказе: боты по сохранению алеутской канадской казарки (Branta взгляд на Армению. Canadensis leucopareia Brandt). Денис Вудс с помощью Констан- Ландшафтное и биологическое разнообразие Армении. Гоар Ога- тина Згуровского и Маргарет Вильямс. Любовь к природе и предан- незова. Несмотря на незначительные размеры, территория Армении ность делу отличает авторов и исполнителей проекта по сохранению ка- располагает уникальным ландшафтным и биологическим разнообразием. надской казарки. Повсеместное сокращение численности вида привело к Здесь можно найти и леса, и пустынные участки, и горы, и уникальное по тому, что он был внесен в Красную книгу многих государств. Принятые красоте и запасам пресной воды горное озеро… Статья знакомит нас с меры позволили исключить казарку из Красной книги Аляски, однако на наиболее интересными особенностями природы Армении и проблемах территории России его численность так и не восстановилась. О кон- ее сохранения. кретных работах по спасению вида в России рассказывается в статье. «Armenia Tree Project» начинает борьбу с обезлесиванием Арме- нии. Джефф Мазарян и Джейсон Сохигян. Отсутствие альтерна- Раздел V. История природоохранной деятельности тивных источников топлива, легальная и нелегальная рубка и вывоз леса, Ксения Голгофская - 50 лет в Кавказском заповеднике. Татьяна ошибки в управлении, привели к значительным потерям лесов Армении. Акатова, Людмила Грабенко, Людмила Бойченко. Ровесница Кавказ- Для их спасения в 1994 году армянка из Америки Каролина Мугар созда- ского заповедника, научный сотрудник Кавказского заповедника Ксения ла проект по возрождению лесов, благодаря которому были открыты пи- Юрьевна Голгофская в нынешнем году отмечает второй юбилей – 50 лет томники по лесоразведению и высажены тысячи деревьев. Одновремен- ее рабочего стажа в заповеднике. Для Голгофской заповедник - «Это ма- но с посадкой лесов финансировались и социальные вопросы – борьба с ленький кусочек большой Родины – России. Большой храм души и сердца, бедностью, экологическое просвещение населения и другие. свободный от человеческой суеты, подлости, алчности, зависти, злобы и Озеро Севан. Уроки природопользования. Рафаел Оганесян, Жан- предательства. Это не работа, а сама жизнь, родной дом, моя семья». на Мкртчян, Роберт Оганесян, Вардуи Григорян. Озеро Севан, рас- «Защитники природы – защитники отечества». В павильоне «Ох- положенное в северо-восточной Армении, характеризуется своеоб- рана природы» Всероссийского выставочного центра в Москве прошла разным гидрохимическим режимом, уникальным составом гидробионтов выставка, посвященная 60-летию Победы в Великой Отечественной вой- и является единственным крупным резервуаром пресной воды на Юж- не, боевому и трудовому подвигу природоохранных организаций и их ном Кавказе. Во второй половине 20-го века осуществлялись проекты по сотрудников в военные годы. В основе экспозиции - материалы о рос- использованию вод озера для нужд человека, что привело к ряду необра- сийских заповедниках и Московском зоопарке в годы войны и вкладу тимых и непредсказуемых процессов. Задачу по спасению озера сейчас этих организаций в Победу.

Summer 2005, No. 39