No Part of the "Sosu Forest" Reserve Has Been Surrendered or Reduced

The "Sosu Forest" reserve is located within the borders of the Republic of Armenia and no part of it has been surrendered or reduced. This information is provided by the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia.

In response to reports circulating in the media titled "Half of the 60 hectares of the largest natural forest of eastern spruce in the entire Caucasus has passed to Azerbaijan," we find it necessary to clarify the following:

The information does not correspond to reality. The "Sosu Forest" reserve, which covers an area of 64.2 hectares, is located within the borders of the Republic of Armenia and is under the protection of the "Zangezur" biosphere complex state institution.

It should be recalled that the "Sosu Forest" reserve was established according to the decision No. 341 of the Council of Ministers of the Armenian SSR dated September 13, 1958. It is situated along the northern macro-slope of the Meghri mountain range in the southern Syunik region of Armenia, on the banks of the Zhav River, at an altitude of 700-750 meters.

Until 2004, the "Sosu Forest" state reserve was part of the Kapan forestry, which, in essence, did not have effective conservation mechanisms. By the government decision No. 1044-N made on July 15, 2004, regarding amendments to the government decision No. 926-N issued on May 30, 2002, the "Sosu Forest" state reserve was transferred to the jurisdiction of the "Shikahogh" state reserve non-commercial organization for the purpose of effectively organizing conservation and restoration works without changing the status of the state reserve.

According to the Armenian government's decision No. 1401-N dated September 7, 2006, the area of the "Sosu Forest" state reserve has been determined to be 64.2 hectares as a result of the adjustment and mapping of the reserve's boundaries.