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SOS FOR TRCHKAN, SOS FOR SEVAN: ENVIRONMENTALISTS CONCERNED ABOUT INDUSTRIAL IMPACT ON ARMENIA'S WATER RESOURCES
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
ArmeniaNow
21.10.11 | 14:12
SOS for Trchkan, SOS for Sevan: Environmentalists concerned about
industrial impact on Armenia's water resources
The banner says: "Let's remember that Lake Sevan is a national wealth"
Environmental movements that have been on the rise in Armenia of late
manage to draw public attention, but still seem to be unable to stop
the activities of the government and the private sector's activities
that harm nature.
For example, near the Government building on Thursday the Minister
of Nature Protection told the green activists campaigning for the
conservation of the waterfall in Trchkan that a hydropower plant
will be built on top of the waterfall and will be in operation during
spring months, while in summer the station's owner will not utilize
the waterfall.
"If the entrepreneur does not accept our restrictions, we should be
able to offer some compensation to him," Minister Aram Harutyunyan
told media after a government session.
The Trchkan waterfall that was recognized as a natural monument in
2008 is located at the administrative border of Armenia's northern
provinces of Shirak and Lori. It is the tallest and most abundant
waterfall in Armenia. In the case with Trchkan, environmentalists have
all the legal arguments that expert findings on the waterfall had
been given illegally and that it is prohibited by law to carry out
activities on a natural monument that would do it harm and threaten
its existence. But government officials and the businessman have been
reluctant to lend an ear to these arguments so far.
The same day Minister Harutyunyan told Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
that the current construction activities for the station did not
affect the waterfall and that during all months except for summer
months the hydropower plant will be operated only if its water flow
exceeds 400-500 liters per second.
The public seems to be skeptical of these assurances.
Environmentalists bring the example of the Shakeh waterfall in Vayots
Dzor where water flows through the waterfall according at the station
owner's discretion.
Environmentalists also wonder how control will be exercised over the
activities of the owner to make sure he complies with the rules or
what will people who want to see the waterfall in spring do.
Environmental expert Armen Vermishyan says that if the station
is operated "we will have a small brook rather than the Trchkan
waterfall."
During recent days Lake Sevan has also been an issue of environmental
concerns. Initiators of the SOS Sevan Action insist that the activities
of the grinding-sorting complex of the GeoProMining gold extraction
company in Sotk, in the Sevan basin, increases lake pollution risks
with a number of heavy and toxic elements.
In an interview with ArmeniaNow Ecolur NGO head Inga Zarafyan,
who with a number of environmentalists visited Sotk on October 18,
says that the grinding-sorting complex is being operated at its full
capacity -- trucks approach the complex and they are loaded with
gold-containing ore, they then ship it to the Ararat gold recovery
factory and empty ground rock are dumped not far from the complex.
Environmentalists demand that the government stop those activities
of GeoProMining as well as the activities of Gegamet Plus (a
chromium-containing ore processing company located 2 kilometers from
the Lake Sevan shore) and Mika Cement (operating on the Ardanish
peninsula and said to cause harm to the peninsula's diverse natural
landscape). They demand that a monitoring be conducted to find out
whether the activities of these companies are in compliance with the
provisions of the Law "On Lake Sevan".
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
ArmeniaNow
21.10.11 | 14:12
SOS for Trchkan, SOS for Sevan: Environmentalists concerned about
industrial impact on Armenia's water resources
The banner says: "Let's remember that Lake Sevan is a national wealth"
Environmental movements that have been on the rise in Armenia of late
manage to draw public attention, but still seem to be unable to stop
the activities of the government and the private sector's activities
that harm nature.
For example, near the Government building on Thursday the Minister
of Nature Protection told the green activists campaigning for the
conservation of the waterfall in Trchkan that a hydropower plant
will be built on top of the waterfall and will be in operation during
spring months, while in summer the station's owner will not utilize
the waterfall.
"If the entrepreneur does not accept our restrictions, we should be
able to offer some compensation to him," Minister Aram Harutyunyan
told media after a government session.
The Trchkan waterfall that was recognized as a natural monument in
2008 is located at the administrative border of Armenia's northern
provinces of Shirak and Lori. It is the tallest and most abundant
waterfall in Armenia. In the case with Trchkan, environmentalists have
all the legal arguments that expert findings on the waterfall had
been given illegally and that it is prohibited by law to carry out
activities on a natural monument that would do it harm and threaten
its existence. But government officials and the businessman have been
reluctant to lend an ear to these arguments so far.
The same day Minister Harutyunyan told Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
that the current construction activities for the station did not
affect the waterfall and that during all months except for summer
months the hydropower plant will be operated only if its water flow
exceeds 400-500 liters per second.
The public seems to be skeptical of these assurances.
Environmentalists bring the example of the Shakeh waterfall in Vayots
Dzor where water flows through the waterfall according at the station
owner's discretion.
Environmentalists also wonder how control will be exercised over the
activities of the owner to make sure he complies with the rules or
what will people who want to see the waterfall in spring do.
Environmental expert Armen Vermishyan says that if the station
is operated "we will have a small brook rather than the Trchkan
waterfall."
During recent days Lake Sevan has also been an issue of environmental
concerns. Initiators of the SOS Sevan Action insist that the activities
of the grinding-sorting complex of the GeoProMining gold extraction
company in Sotk, in the Sevan basin, increases lake pollution risks
with a number of heavy and toxic elements.
In an interview with ArmeniaNow Ecolur NGO head Inga Zarafyan,
who with a number of environmentalists visited Sotk on October 18,
says that the grinding-sorting complex is being operated at its full
capacity -- trucks approach the complex and they are loaded with
gold-containing ore, they then ship it to the Ararat gold recovery
factory and empty ground rock are dumped not far from the complex.
Environmentalists demand that the government stop those activities
of GeoProMining as well as the activities of Gegamet Plus (a
chromium-containing ore processing company located 2 kilometers from
the Lake Sevan shore) and Mika Cement (operating on the Ardanish
peninsula and said to cause harm to the peninsula's diverse natural
landscape). They demand that a monitoring be conducted to find out
whether the activities of these companies are in compliance with the
provisions of the Law "On Lake Sevan".