WWF-Armenia played a major role in preventing massive deforestation in the country. By leading a consortium of several environmental organizations in Armenia, the campaign SOS! Shikahogh successfully lobbied the Armenian government to find an alternative to the planned highway route through Shikahogh Forest Reserve in 2005.
This important example of effective cooperation among civil society groups and public officials served to prevent the destruction of 30 hectares of oak trees (approximately 14.000 trees), as well as irreversible damage to the habitat of endemic plants and endangered species such as leopard, Bezoar goat, and mouflon.
Conservation International (CI) has included the Caucasus ecoregion in its list of the planet's 25 most diverse & endangered hotspots.
Established in 1961, WWF operates in more than 100 countries and employs over 5,000 people worldwide. Based in Switzerland, the secretariat for WWF's global conservation organization began its activities in the Caucasus in 1992 and extended its conservation work by establishing a local office in Yerevan, Armenia in 2001.
WWF has identified the Caucasus as one of ecoregions globally outstanding for biodiversity. Historically interpreted as the isthmus between the Black and Caspian seas, the Caucasus ecoregion covers a total area of 580,000 km, including the nations of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the North Caucasus portion of the Russian Federation, Northeastern Turkey, and part of Northwestern Iran. The total population is approximately 34,7 million.As of November 2006, WWF-Armenia has been registered as an official branch of WWF and currently implements and coordinates more than 20 projects focused on environmental as well as social and economic issues.
