Formation of a Special Ranger Division at Khosrov Forest State Reserve Announced by Romanos Petrosyan

The Minister of Environment of Armenia, Romanos Petrosyan, announced on his Facebook page that he has made a working visit to the Khosrov Forest State Reserve. "The formation of a special ranger division at the Khosrov Forest State Reserve has been realized. The personnel were selected through a competitive process from the local communities in the region.

The newly formed special division will conduct 24-hour surveillance in shifts of three days starting from December 14. Two Nissan Pickup all-terrain vehicles previously donated by the Caucasus Nature Fund (CNF) will also serve for surveillance purposes.

The Khosrov Forest State Reserve is a strategically important site, particularly concerning the socio-economic implications for the Ararat region. I expressed my gratitude to the management of the Forest State Nature Reserve, the head of the service, the director, and the deputy director for bringing this project to fruition and expressed hope that effective operational indicators will be registered in the shortest time.

I emphasized the importance of the joint work of the state agency with law enforcement, local self-government bodies, and territorial administration bodies. "The organization of the special division was a priority issue for us as we needed a round-the-clock rapid response service," he noted.

I also particularly stressed the importance of recruiting staff with a new culture. The details of an incident that occurred in October 2020 concerning the illegal hunting of the bezoar goat, listed in the Red Book, were also discussed. Boris Baghdasaryan, the director of the state agency, indicated that a criminal case has been initiated with the evidence collected at the Investigative Committee. There is necessary cooperation between the law enforcement agency and the state agency.

“Today, we can talk about the elimination of poaching cases, which is attributed to both the selfless service of our surveillance and ranger group personnel and the application of regulatory measures in the sector,” he wrote.