Swimming in Lake Sevan May Seriously Harm Human Health, Says Vahagn Varaghyan

Can you imagine that it is acknowledged that Lake Sevan is in a disgracefully critical condition from an environmental perspective, and that swimming in Sevan may seriously harm human health, yet no steps are being taken, and not even a minister of the environment has been appointed? This statement was made by Vahagn Varaghyan, a member of the environmental NGO 'Green Future', on his Facebook page.

'This is no longer sustainable. We need to save Sevan,' he emphasized.

Concerns about the potential threat that Lake Sevan poses to human health have been raised numerous times recently, prompting public outcry. However, we have only received a brief and incoherent partial response from the Ministry of Health. Yes, a half-hearted response and nothing more; there has been no discussion about any steps toward solving the problem, no 'prescriptions,' and not a word about a roadmap for actions. This is a wrong method of working, gentlemen. Furthermore, this is essentially not working at all. Especially when you are planning to send Sevan trout to military units, directly endangering the health of soldiers.

Moreover, perhaps we shouldn't have expected more from a health minister who has embarrassingly failed in the fight against COVID-19. Now we seriously wonder if our public inquiries are being directed at the right addresses. Are these individuals capable of doing anything? Are we overestimating their intellectual and organizational capabilities? Not to mention that there has been no minister of the environment for almost two months.

Imagine that it is acknowledged that Lake Sevan is in a disgracefully critical condition from an environmental perspective, and that swimming in Sevan may seriously harm human health, yet no steps are being taken, and not even a minister of the environment has been appointed. We are on the brink of disaster, and as a nation, we must take this seriously.'