Passions Getting Tenser at Public Hearings of Making Lake Sevan A Fish Farm

EcoLur

 “This project is another mistake of the Armenian Government… this is an anti-national and anti-environmental project…It’s like founding a business with governmental means and it plans to gradually transfer from the state-owned to private…Here high corruption and economic risks are available…” Such opinions were expressed at the first public hearings on “Complex Program for Recovery of Trout Reserves and Fish Breeding in Lake Sevan” on 23 January.

This project had caused concerns not only with the environmentalists, but also with the residents, “Only Lake Sevan has been left, but they are going to privatize it as well…They are going to deprive all us of living, nobody will be allowed to approach even the beach…The whole village can’t get employed at the fish farm, but the whole village feeds with the fish. We are boasting with Sevan all over the world, should we exchange it with several working places and several tons of fish?” the residents were complaining.

“EcoLur” Informational NGO President Inga Zarafyan mentioned that the project doesn’t have economic rationale, it contains only promises. ‘It has no EIA, no control, if the company increases risks, it means the project is not environmental, but a business project. The result of the pilot projects can’t serve as substantiation,” she said.

As it turned out, the community heads are also not pleased with the idea of turning Sevan into a fish farm, “A couple of people were employed at the pilot project, they can’t offer 5000-6000 working places. What will we get versus throwing so much nitrogen and phosphorus in the crystal lake? One day the lake will get frozen and this initiative will blow out.”

January 30, 2014 at 10:51