Armenia to Collaborate with the European Union on Lake Sevan Cleaning Project

Considering the various negative impacts affecting Lake Sevan, a comprehensive document has been developed and presented to EU partners. This was stated today, June 2, by Irina Ghaplanyan, Deputy Minister of Environment, during a press conference on the topic of Lake Sevan’s bloom.

“Last year, the government proposed to implement a restoration program for the Lake Sevan ecosystem with the support of the EU, for which 5 million euros has been allocated, and within the framework of this program, comprehensive measures are planned,” Ghaplanyan noted.

Referring to the document, Ghaplanyan emphasized that they have already prepared it and taken into account all issues and provisions.

“If we divide the issues related to Lake Sevan into two groups, it will have two main orientations: one is the qualitative aspect of Sevan's water, and the other is the quantitative issue. When discussing the quantitative issue, it is important to note that since 2001, the law regarding Lake Sevan recorded the fact that the water level of Sevan should be raised to restore the lake's ecosystem,” the expert revealed.

According to the expert, the greening or blooming of Sevan, as residents commonly refer to it, has been happening since the 1960s due to the disruption of the balance in Sevan's ecosystem. In this regard, experts have faced this issue years ago, but there are certain factors that have an additional negative impact on Sevan's ecosystem.

According to Ghaplanyan, one of the main problems is the lowering of the lake’s level, alongside which, over the years, household and other wastewater has flowed into it. The next issue is global warming; a rise in temperature has already been recorded in the territory of Armenia.