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LEOPARDS WITHOUT BORDERS: PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY IN THE CAUCASUS
By: Nanore Barsoumian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2011/06/15/leopards-without-borders/
Wed, Jun 15 2011
In the diverse terrain of the Caucasus-in Armenia, Georgia, and
Azerbaijan-a small population of leopards strives to survive.
At the top of the food chain, leopards are but one indicator of the
health of the eco-region, in an area deemed one of 34 hotspots of
thriving biodiversity in the world.
Considered highly endangered, there are an estimated 1,500 Caucasus
leopards in the world. Most have migrated out of the Caucasus into
Central Asia and southern Iran (also referred to as non-Caucasus
Iran). According to the Caucasus Nature Fund (CNF), less than 100
still live in the area. Seven inhabit the mountains and forests of
Armenia; 50 northern Iran; 10 the north Caucasus region of Russia;
15 in Azerbaijan; and a handful in Georgia.
About 250 square kilometers are required to house a male leopard along
with two or three females. It is important, therefore, to protect
the core areas-or the national parks-where wildlife thrives. It is
equally vital to secure the corridors that connect the parks.
"You need to have ways for the animals to get back and forth.
Otherwise you have something that's called the 'island effect' and the
gene pool becomes poorer because there's no mixing," said CNF Executive
Director David Morrison in an interview with the Armenian Weekly. "The
seven leopards that live in Armenia need to mate with the three or
four that live in Georgia, and those that live in Iran and Azerbaijan."
A former corporate and financial lawyer, Morrison says the threat
to biodiversity is "the world's unknown or unspoken environmental
crisis." At the top of the food chain, leopards are but one indicator
of the health of the eco-region, in an area deemed one of 34 hotspots
of thriving biodiversity in the world.
Every 30 minutes or so, a species is erased from the face of the
planet, Morrison noted glumly, a fate that can befall the endangered
wildlife of the Caucasus.
The landscape in the three Caucasus countries, which together make up
roughly the size of France, is incredibly diverse. "Landscapes that
go from badlands that we would think of, like out to the Dakotas, to
the highest mountains-higher than any of the Alps-and to the lowest
points in Europe. [It has] 9 of the world's 11 climate zones-all in
this relatively small area," Morrison explained.
In Armenia, the organization is supporting the Khosrov Forest,
Shikahogh/Zangezur, and Arevik protected areas.
"Scientists break down the map of the world into hotspots-where
biodiversity is still thriving even if threatened. People know about
the Amazon and the incredible biodiversity in Indonesia. What people
don't know is that on this map of 34 hotspots in the world, there is 1
in a tempered climate zone, and that's the Caucasus. [It] has the most
biodiversity-Armenia, right up there with the rest of the countries."
The area houses a unique assortment of mammals and plants: Caucasus
leopards; wolves; the Bezoar goat, which is a subspecies endemic to
the Caucasus; the Armenian mouflon, an animal that only exists in
Armenia and Azerbaijan; various species of birds; and 6,500 species
of plants (particularly rich in Armenia), over 1,500 of which are
found only in the region.
So far, CNF has been supported by non-Armenians. The foundation was
created by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Germany and the German
government in 2008. It later received support from the Virginia-based
Conservation International and, most recently, the World Bank. It
now has around $20 million in funds available for the region.
"These areas are severely underfunded today. The point of my foundation
is to give them the funding that they need," said Morrison.
CNF's funds flow directly into the fields, where they support the
operating costs of national parks and the protected areas. They
supplement the salaries of the rangers, and fund equipment such as
Jeeps, gasoline, binoculars, and mobile phones. The organization also
offers guidance on budgeting and planning, and undertakes training
efforts in protection techniques and tourism development.
"The environmental world has understood that it is hard to persuade,
especially the local people, to support an environmental cause unless
they see that there is something in it for them," Morrison added.
Training and salary supplements are important since poaching is a
continuing threat. For a park ranger in rural Armenia who makes about
$100 a month, an offer of $1,000 in exchange for permission to hunt
is an extremely tempting proposition, explained Morrison. "So, it's
important for these people to have their standard of living raised,
to be trained, to be made to feel important."
Recently, the organization received funding from the World Bank's
Global Environment Facility-$2 million, split evenly between Armenia
and Georgia.
Thus far, Azerbaijan has refused to work with CNF. "We have not yet
had success in [working] in Azerbaijan, and that's a shame... It's
one world. We can't save the animals in Armenia unless we save the
animals in Azerbaijan, too. So I'm still trying to reach out to the
Azeri government, and hope that I can persuade them to come along,"
added Morrison, who said it was hard to gauge why Azerbaijan remained
uncooperative.
The reason may be the country's unwillingness to work in tandem with
other regional players, especially Armenia. Or, it may be due to its
reluctance to have an international organization monitor its internal
affairs, especially because oil revenues would allow it to undertake
similar efforts on its own. "It's hard to know," he said. "I don't
have an explanation."
The success of the project will be visible over time. "This foundation
is supposed to be here not for a year or 3 years, it's supposed to be
with Armenia and its protected areas for the next 20 or 30 years and
beyond. You can't measure success in six months or a year. You measure
success by counting the number of leopards, by counting the number of
wolves," said Morrison. Both animals are considered keystone species.
For more information on CNF's work in the region, or to make
a donation (both general or to a specific country), visit
www.caucasus-naturefund.org.
"People need to be aware that there's a web of life out there,
and we're all part of that web," said Morrison. "Humans are just as
much part of it as the rest of the natural world. We depend on that
web. If it starts to break down and fall apart, the world that we
live in and the world as we know it will not survive."
The interview with David Morrison was conducted by Armenian Weekly
editor Khatchig Mouradian and assistant editor Nanore Barsoumian in
Watertown, Mass.
By: Nanore Barsoumian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2011/06/15/leopards-without-borders/
Wed, Jun 15 2011
In the diverse terrain of the Caucasus-in Armenia, Georgia, and
Azerbaijan-a small population of leopards strives to survive.
At the top of the food chain, leopards are but one indicator of the
health of the eco-region, in an area deemed one of 34 hotspots of
thriving biodiversity in the world.
Considered highly endangered, there are an estimated 1,500 Caucasus
leopards in the world. Most have migrated out of the Caucasus into
Central Asia and southern Iran (also referred to as non-Caucasus
Iran). According to the Caucasus Nature Fund (CNF), less than 100
still live in the area. Seven inhabit the mountains and forests of
Armenia; 50 northern Iran; 10 the north Caucasus region of Russia;
15 in Azerbaijan; and a handful in Georgia.
About 250 square kilometers are required to house a male leopard along
with two or three females. It is important, therefore, to protect
the core areas-or the national parks-where wildlife thrives. It is
equally vital to secure the corridors that connect the parks.
"You need to have ways for the animals to get back and forth.
Otherwise you have something that's called the 'island effect' and the
gene pool becomes poorer because there's no mixing," said CNF Executive
Director David Morrison in an interview with the Armenian Weekly. "The
seven leopards that live in Armenia need to mate with the three or
four that live in Georgia, and those that live in Iran and Azerbaijan."
A former corporate and financial lawyer, Morrison says the threat
to biodiversity is "the world's unknown or unspoken environmental
crisis." At the top of the food chain, leopards are but one indicator
of the health of the eco-region, in an area deemed one of 34 hotspots
of thriving biodiversity in the world.
Every 30 minutes or so, a species is erased from the face of the
planet, Morrison noted glumly, a fate that can befall the endangered
wildlife of the Caucasus.
The landscape in the three Caucasus countries, which together make up
roughly the size of France, is incredibly diverse. "Landscapes that
go from badlands that we would think of, like out to the Dakotas, to
the highest mountains-higher than any of the Alps-and to the lowest
points in Europe. [It has] 9 of the world's 11 climate zones-all in
this relatively small area," Morrison explained.
In Armenia, the organization is supporting the Khosrov Forest,
Shikahogh/Zangezur, and Arevik protected areas.
"Scientists break down the map of the world into hotspots-where
biodiversity is still thriving even if threatened. People know about
the Amazon and the incredible biodiversity in Indonesia. What people
don't know is that on this map of 34 hotspots in the world, there is 1
in a tempered climate zone, and that's the Caucasus. [It] has the most
biodiversity-Armenia, right up there with the rest of the countries."
The area houses a unique assortment of mammals and plants: Caucasus
leopards; wolves; the Bezoar goat, which is a subspecies endemic to
the Caucasus; the Armenian mouflon, an animal that only exists in
Armenia and Azerbaijan; various species of birds; and 6,500 species
of plants (particularly rich in Armenia), over 1,500 of which are
found only in the region.
So far, CNF has been supported by non-Armenians. The foundation was
created by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Germany and the German
government in 2008. It later received support from the Virginia-based
Conservation International and, most recently, the World Bank. It
now has around $20 million in funds available for the region.
"These areas are severely underfunded today. The point of my foundation
is to give them the funding that they need," said Morrison.
CNF's funds flow directly into the fields, where they support the
operating costs of national parks and the protected areas. They
supplement the salaries of the rangers, and fund equipment such as
Jeeps, gasoline, binoculars, and mobile phones. The organization also
offers guidance on budgeting and planning, and undertakes training
efforts in protection techniques and tourism development.
"The environmental world has understood that it is hard to persuade,
especially the local people, to support an environmental cause unless
they see that there is something in it for them," Morrison added.
Training and salary supplements are important since poaching is a
continuing threat. For a park ranger in rural Armenia who makes about
$100 a month, an offer of $1,000 in exchange for permission to hunt
is an extremely tempting proposition, explained Morrison. "So, it's
important for these people to have their standard of living raised,
to be trained, to be made to feel important."
Recently, the organization received funding from the World Bank's
Global Environment Facility-$2 million, split evenly between Armenia
and Georgia.
Thus far, Azerbaijan has refused to work with CNF. "We have not yet
had success in [working] in Azerbaijan, and that's a shame... It's
one world. We can't save the animals in Armenia unless we save the
animals in Azerbaijan, too. So I'm still trying to reach out to the
Azeri government, and hope that I can persuade them to come along,"
added Morrison, who said it was hard to gauge why Azerbaijan remained
uncooperative.
The reason may be the country's unwillingness to work in tandem with
other regional players, especially Armenia. Or, it may be due to its
reluctance to have an international organization monitor its internal
affairs, especially because oil revenues would allow it to undertake
similar efforts on its own. "It's hard to know," he said. "I don't
have an explanation."
The success of the project will be visible over time. "This foundation
is supposed to be here not for a year or 3 years, it's supposed to be
with Armenia and its protected areas for the next 20 or 30 years and
beyond. You can't measure success in six months or a year. You measure
success by counting the number of leopards, by counting the number of
wolves," said Morrison. Both animals are considered keystone species.
For more information on CNF's work in the region, or to make
a donation (both general or to a specific country), visit
www.caucasus-naturefund.org.
"People need to be aware that there's a web of life out there,
and we're all part of that web," said Morrison. "Humans are just as
much part of it as the rest of the natural world. We depend on that
web. If it starts to break down and fall apart, the world that we
live in and the world as we know it will not survive."
The interview with David Morrison was conducted by Armenian Weekly
editor Khatchig Mouradian and assistant editor Nanore Barsoumian in
Watertown, Mass.