EcoLur
The Earth Day is celebrated on 22 April worldwide, when people plant trees, clean territories from garbage, hold demonstrations in the support of environment, speak about their achievements and problems.
Armenia can be proud of what its nature has. There are over 9000 rivers and 100 lakes in the territory of the country; approximately 96% of the water in Armenia used for drinking needs is formed from underground sources. 3 billion m3 underground waters are formed annually. The strategic water reserves, 35 billion cubic meters, are concentrated in the Lake Sevan.
Armenian landscapes are distinguishable with its diversity due to drastic variation in heights. Gorges, waterfalls, alpine meadows, high-mountain lakes, caves and natural monuments…A rich variety of biodiversity is concentrated in the specially protected areas with more than thousands of species of flora and fauna.
The Armenian soil occupies the most part of territory with over 500 mines being developed. The list of natural resources include precious and non-ferrous metals, rare elements, such as gold, silver, copper, molybdenum, zinc, mercury, lead, gallium, rhenium, selenium, tellurium, cadmium, indium, bismuth, antimony etc.
We can be proud of these riches, but adhere them to your eon achievements can be possible only when the wealth serves for the well-being of the people and state thriving.
In fact, we have such rivers as Akhtala, Kartchevan, Voghji, Norashenik, Sotq and Masrik, which are polluted with the wastes of ore industry and gradually turn into tails. Lake Sevan is polluted not only with sewerage, but also with heavy metals. Cleaning structures don’t work. The Hrazdan River, which irrigates Ararat Valley, contains a wide range of pollutants collecting the wastes of car washed on its way. Those rivers, which somehow avoided pollution, are subjected to the pressure of SHPs, which have turned into real monsters for water course.
Soils in Armenia are developed ruthlessly. The mines, which used to be considered non-perspective due to small content of metals and expensiveness of extraction, are now perspective, as the mining companies don’t pay anything for the huge amount of wastes, while the profit flows to private pockets. Because of cheap and unfit technologies, rare and valuable elements remain in the tails or in the admixtures, for which they don’t pay anything, go to developed countries, where efficient companies extract and use them.
Specially protected areas are seized by the oligarchs. They either alienate them or construct hotel complexes in the guise of tourism, as it happened with Khosrov and Shikahogh reserves, “Sevan” and “Dilijan” National Parks.
Now, about the achievements. We can definitely speak only about one achievement. These are people who oppose to rapacious policy and fight back their land areas, rivers, forests and voice about felled trees and degraded people and challenge the authorities and money. On this note we can celebrate the Earth Day in Armenia.
April 22, 2013 at 16:25