YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, NOYAN TAPAN. A number of representatives of Armenia's mass media and NGOs paid a visit to Syunik marz on September 24-26 to conduct a monitoring of the situation at the Tsav-Shvanidzor section of Kapan-Meghri Motorway. Earlier it was envisaged that the indicated section of the road would pass through the Shikahogh Reserve. This would destroy most of Mtnadzor Forest and cause irreparable damage to nature. However, the community intervened, which made the Armenian government take a decision on July 10, 2005, under which the initial project was changed and the road was to bypass the reserve - through the village of Shishkert. The monitoring was conducted within the framework of the campaign against the construction of the motorway through the Shikahigh Reserve with the support of the World Wildlife Fund and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), with the information NGO Ecolur being in charge. According to Ruben Mkrtchian, Director of the Shikahogh Reserve, no construction work is being done in the territory of the reserve. The work at the Tsav-Shvanidzor section is underway, even though slowly. The builders explained it by their bitter experience - sometimes a lot of effort is made to transport the equipment to an out-of-the-way place and later they have to move it from the area beacuse of some changes to the project. The builders said they are waiting for the final project which has not been submitted for an environmental examination yet. The residents of the Shishkert village told reporters about the recent visit of the RA Minister of Transport and Communication Andranik Manukian. They were concerned since during the visit the minister expressed doubts about the correctness of the decision to build the motorway through their village. It also became known that the designers are preparing yet another version of the road construction, according to which the road may bypass Shishkert and run through the edge of the Shikahogh Reserve for several kilometers. Deputy Head of the Syunik regional administration Robert Sargsian noted at the meeting with reporters that Shishket plays an important role in the strategical development of the marz. He was convinced that the scheme bearing the signatures of the Armenian President and Prime Minister will not be changed. "We are resolute to protect the version that is the most convincing one both from the environmental and financial point of view," Vladik Martirosian, Chairman of NGO "Khustup" said.

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