Reporting on Armenia
Yale Environment 360: Freeing Captive Bears from Armenia’s Backyards and Basements
Ahead of a major biodiversity summit set for Armenia, the country has pledged to crack down on the practice of keeping wild bears in captivity. Rescuers are removing Syrian brown bears from hellish conditions in private homes and businesses and bringing them to a rehab center.
Yale Environment 360: As Armenian Fish Farming Expands, a Pristine Aquifer Is Drying Up
In recent decades, aquaculture has proliferated in Armenia’s Ararat Valley. The heightened use of water, combined with a warming climate and increased drought, has led to groundwater reserves shrinking by two-thirds, once-bountiful farms withering, and wells going dry.
EVN Report: Maps Show a Forest, But Where Are the Trees?
From a distance, the kilometers of dense trees surrounding Dilijan look untouched. But what you see from afar is like a curtain shielding the thousands of stumps where fully-grown beech, yew and oak trees used to stand.
EVN Report: The Keepers of the Goats
Efforts to keep hunters and poachers out have successfully revived the once-dwindling Bezoar goat population. But more than a decade into the project, things might have gone a little too well. The elusive Caucasian leopard has resurfaced, and brown bears—who are far less shy—have returned as well, creating new tensions with nearby villages.
EVN Report: Why Armenian Children Eat So Much Sugar
Sugar is everywhere in Armenia. Sugar-laden foods are the first thing on display in nearly every corner store, among the shelves stacked with candy bars, cakes and sugary drinks. Feeding kids sugar is largely seen as a gesture of love, and as a consequence, Armenian children are eating it at alarming frequency.
EVN Report: The Life Cycle of a Yerevan Restaurant
The past few years have ushered in a new era of dining in Yerevan—a city which had only 400 restaurants a little over a decade ago has more than triple that number today. Now, roughly 1,500 bars and restaurants are vying for the attention of just over a million residents, many of whom can no longer afford the luxury of regularly dining out.