How Conflict Brings Biodiversity to the Brink

Manvel Arzumanyan, retired veterinarian, says animal movements have been impacted by the conflict. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS by Stella Paul (yerevan and shikahogh state reserve, armenia)Monday, October 26, 2026Inter Press Service YEREVAN and SHIKAHOGH STATE RESERVE, Armenia, October 26 (IPS) - Less than 100 metres from military positions facing each other across the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, the forest suddenly disappears. On 22 October, I travelled to Shikahogh State Reserve, a biodiversity hotspot in southern Armenia near the Azerbaijan border. At one point I stood less than 100 metres from military positions facing each other across the frontier. Looking across the landscape, what struck me most was not the presence of soldiers but the absence of trees. Large patches of hillside were barren, interrupting what should have been continuous forest cover. From several points inside the reserve, stretches of land appeared stripped of vegetation. Armenian military positions and Azerbaijani posts were visible across the landscape, reminders that one of the South Caucasus’ richest ecosystems now sits at the edge of a heavily militarised frontier.The reserve, located in Armenia’s Syunik Pr...