Yerevan, Armenia – On 1 July 2022 in the framework of the European Union and the German Government funded “Lake Sevan Environmental Protection” EU4Sevan project the first International Conference of its kind about the “Joining Efforts Towards Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development of Lake Sevan Ecosystem” was held.
The aim of this International Conference was to outline the possible joint solutions of the key players of the field in different research, monitoring, and planning activities for a better understanding of each other’s responsibilities and actions taken and being implemented in the Lake Sevan basin aimed at closer cooperation in the future.
The conference brought together people from different stakeholder groups with different backgrounds concerning Lake Sevan issues and interdisciplinary research teams among whom were RA Minister of Environment Hakob Simidyan, Head of Cooperation of EU Delegation to Armenia Frank Hess, Deputy Ministers of Environment Aram Meymaryan, Tigran Gabrielyan and Gayane Gabrielyan, Deputy Governor of Gegharkunik Province Vahan Zaroyan, international experts Martin Schultze and Karsten Rinke from Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), GIZ EU4Sevan Team Leader Christian Henschel, representatives from UNDP Climate, Environment, and Resilience Program, Water Committee, Sevan National Park, EU4Environment Programme, AUA Acopian Center for the Environment, Ecocenter of National Academy of Science of RA, Scientific Centre of Zoology and Hydroecology, representatives from NGOs from Gegharkunik region and many other decision-makers and key players of the field.
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Minister Simidyan welcomed the participants: “Freshwater scarcity is a global issue today․ Political and economic wars are being fought for water in a number of countries around the world; what is happening in the water sector all over the world can be called in a few words a struggle for water.Water is different from all natural resources. Many natural resources, including even precious oils, are substitutable and water is not. That is why today all the countries, governments and humanity of the world are trying to unite their efforts for the protection of water resources. But we must unite our efforts not only for the protection of water resources, but also for their quality, because environmental issues are interconnected մաս part of a chain ․ The worse the environment, the more polluted the water resources, and vice versa”.
During the conference, scientists, experts, CSO representatives, and decision-makers presented their projects, activities and results and discussed the problems and potential solutions related to monitoring, management, and governance of Lake Sevan and its watershed.
Head of Cooperation at EU Delegation to Armenia Frank Hess notes: “There is different research, developed projects and initiatives related to the various aspects of Lake Sevan and its watershed. All these projects like EU4Sevan share common ideas – improve the knowledge about the lakes’ ecosystem, understand the nature and predict the impact of anthropogenic activities and climate change in the lake watershed, and transfer this information to stakeholders for finding the best environmental ways of protection of Lake Sevan”.
The conference was an incentive for comprehensive knowledge and information sharing, networking, awareness raising, establishing the cooperation between participating organizations for addressing the complex problems through jointly implemented activities and identifying key recommendations for the protection of this sensitive and service-providing ecosystem.
The first session, moderated by Gayane Shahnazaryan, Deputy Director of HMC SNCO, touched upon major results and main activities in research and development. The 2nd session, moderated by Astghik Danielyan, the Coordinator of the UNDP component of EU4Sevan, highlighted the activities of Armenian government aimed at improving the management of Lake Sevan and its watershed. And the last session was a Panel discussion on the main challenges in the Lake Sevan ecosystem, its protection and sustainable development, which was moderated by Alen Amirkhanian, AUA, Director of the Acopian Center for the Environment.
“Lake Sevan has a highly significant historical, cultural, and economic value for the country as it is a source of drinking water, irrigation water, and production of hydropower. It also serves as a recreational area for the Armenian population. However, because of the intensive and unsustainable use during the past decades (e.g., insufficient development of sanitation solutions, intensive use of pesticides and fertilizers, over-abstraction of water for irrigation), the water quantity and quality have significantly deteriorated. The Lake faces numerous environmental challenges and has also suffered significant biodiversity loss. The restoration and preservation of the lake’s ecological balance, as well as its protection and sustainable use, are top priorities of the Armenian Government in the field of climate and environment”, – summarized EU4Sevan Team Leader Christian Henschel.
The conference paved a way for better coordination of the activities in the Lake Sevan basin by the different decision-makers and key actors to generate synergies and avoid “reinventing the wheel”. The outcomes of discussions will be summarized in the conference report which will serve as a reference information source for subsequent steps.
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“Environmental Protection of Lake Sevan” EU4Sevan Project is co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is part of the EU Action “EU4 Energy Efficiency and Environment”, and of the BMZ-funded programme “Management of natural resources and safeguarding of ecosystem services for sustainable rural development in the South Caucasus (ECOserve)”. The project is implemented by GIZ and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
