EcoLur
The additional water outlet from Lake Sevan for irrigation purposes was not always used targeted, as Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan's report “On Human Rights Defender’s Activities and Violation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in Armenia for 2014” says. The Ombudsman considers it to be the omission of Agriculture Ministry: in this regard, the report says, 'In 2014 based on the governmental resolution 270 million cum water was let out of Lake Sevan instead of the statutory 170 million cum, which, in a number of cases, not only didn't serve the irrigation of land areas, but also endangered the existence of Sevan, as the largest water resource in Armenia.
On voluntary bases the environmentalists carried out inspection in the relevant places in Armenia to check the effectiveness of water usage and it was found out a part of the taken water passed through hydropower stations, while the used water was spilled into the river, which then flew into neighboring countries.
The Ministry shall be persistent in finding out whether the water let out of Lake Sevan was used for irrigation purposes, while stricter control shall be exercised over the use of this natural resource to be informed which land areas were irrigation with the let out water and the frequency of the irrigation.
Proposal: to properly supervise for the use of the water let out of Lake Sevan exclusively for irrigation purposes, as well as to properly discuss with all stakeholders when drafting new legislative initiatives on additional water intake.'
April 24, 2015 at 12:46