Your trusted source

Water has a price, yet its value for life can’t be estimated, director of the Institute of Hydroecology and Ichthyology under the Scientific Centre of Zoology and Hydroecology of Armenian National Academy of Sciences Bardugh Gabrielyan said during a press conference.

According to him, Armenia has a relative advantage compared with other countries, as Sevan Lake is the biggest freshwater reservoir in the region.

“We surely should use that advantage,” he noted.

Bardugh Gabrielyan said that Sevan water and life resources should be viewed not only as a recreation area and water energy source, but also as a strategic zone.

The scientist stressed the importance of fish supplies, particularly, the whitefish, that was the only valuable food source for Armenians in 1990s. According to him, such situation is quite possible to repeat itself, so we should have reserve supplies.

“It also has ecological importance as fish is the link through which the excess organic substances in Sevan Lake can be reduced contributing to water quality improvement,” Bardugh Gabrielyan stressed. 

According to him, unlike water quality it is too early to speak about improving and restoring fish supplies. Of course, work is being done towards restoring fish supplies that will bring some changes in the fishing sector and artificial cultivation contributing to increase in trout supplies, yet natural reproduction isn’t observed, so it is early to say that trout supplies have been restored in Sevan.

Bardugh Gabrielyan also noted that attention should be paid to the condition of rivers flowing into Sevan, as the water for spawning is used by smaller hydropower plants, for irrigation, yet there should be ecological flow to provide vital functions of flora and fauna.

It should be noted that March 22 is celebrated as World Water Day. This day was first formally proposed in Agenda 21 of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro.