Ucom Staff Joins Tree-Planting Efforts in Vayots Dzor region
Ucom’s team once again with joined forces of SunChild NGO and the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) carried out its annual tree-planting activities.
With Ucom’s support 10,000 trees will be planted in Armenia’s Vayots Dzor region, out of which around 2,000 were planted in a one day by Ucom staff, guided by FPWC specialists
The tree-planting activities took place in the beautiful mountains of Gnishik settlement, Areni community of Vayots Dzor region.
“Tree-planting has become a beloved tradition at our company, and our employees eagerly participate in these nature restoration efforts. For us, caring for the environment is one of the ways we serve our country and society; it is part of our commitment to being a true green operator. Just as we diligently work on modernizing our networks and offering high-quality services, we are equally committed to protecting Armenia’s environment,” said Ralph Yirikian, General Director of Ucom.
“It is very important when companies, with the involvement of their employees, become partners in nature restoration. This is not only a tree-planting initiative; it is a collective effort toward creating a reborn forest. Especially now, as Armenia prepares to host the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, it is more important than ever that each of us play an active role in protecting biodiversity and addressing environmental issues,” mentioned Sona Kalantaryan, Director of SunChild NGO.
The goal of the tree-planting initiative is to restore degraded, yet once forested, areas within the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge (CWR), the first private protected area in the South Caucasus, spanning over 30,000 hectares. The CWR and surrounding regions are of critical importance for biodiversity conservation in the South Caucasus, serving as habitats for rare species such as the brown bear, bezoar ibex, Egyptian vulture, bearded vulture, Armenian viper, and the Caucasian leopard.
Reforestation efforts like this help address several serious environmental challenges: they protect endangered tree species, reduce human-wildlife conflict, create new feeding and breeding grounds for mammals and birds, mitigate climate change, and help prevent desertification and so on.