YEREVAN (Novosti Armenia), June 16–The representative office of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Armenia will present a project to the Ministry of Nature Protection on enlarging the territories of Khosrov reserve, Karen Manvelian, the head of the WWF representative office, said.

“The total territory of Khosrov reserve will increase from 23,000 to 30,000 hectares,” Manvelian told journalists.

Khosrov reserve is a nature conservation area in the Ararat region. It was established in the fourth century AD by the Armenian King Khosrov. In 1958, it was given the status of nature reserve.

According to Manvelian, the territories that are planned to be included in the reserve are of great value from the point of view of biodiversity.

The project will also suggest granting the former villages Gilan and Bayburt the statuses of nature reserves.

Manvelian mentioned that the solution of the problem is on a legal level.

WWF, one of the major public charity organizations in the world, was established in 1961. More than 5,000 fund members work in more than 100 countries. Each year WWF implements more than 1,200 ecological projects, drawing the attention of millions of people to environmental protection problems.

The WWF Yerevan office was established in 2001, and since 2006 has been functioning as the WWF Armenian branch.

Translated from Russian by Yerevan Report