Competition for the post of Director of Khosrov State Reserve is over

• Saturday, March 16, 10:42

The competition for the post of Director of Khosrov State Reserve has been completed.

The favorite is acting Director Hrachya Hovakimyan.

"His interview impressed both the mass media and the greens, who watched it live: he gave correct answers to all 10 questions. It was a good show," well-known environmentalist Eghia Nersisyan said.

The other three candidates Vardan Mamikonyan, Garnik Shaboyan and Pargev Stepanyan were not as impressive, with only Shaboyan having hope for the post.

Hovakimyan's key rival is the former director of the reserve Vorontsov Barseghyan, who retired in 2012 because of health problems, following media reports of poaching activities in the reserve.

He told ArmInfo that he was a bit nervous during the interview, that's why some of his answers were not very good. "But I worked in Khosrov for 38 years and feel I can do for the reserve more than ever," Barseghyan said.

In Nersisyan's opinion, Hovakimyan's interview has confirmed the forecasts of the greens that the organizer of the competition, the Environment Protection Ministry, would support his candidacy. "No problem. We will not stop: if poaching cases in the reserve continue, we will do our best to make them public," Nersisyan said.

After Hovakimyan's interview, a group of environmentalists, including the coordinator of the Caucasus Nature Fund Arman Vermishyan, walked out of the hall where the broadcast was being aired. In 2012 the Caucasus Nature Fund and WWF-Armenia stopped financing Khosrov State Reserve following near appointment of poacher nicknamed "Nono" as its director. Vermishyan refused to comment on the new competition. He said that the Fund would say later if it would continue its cooperation with the reserve or not.

The results of the competition will be made public next week.