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MINI HYDRO-PLANTS DEBATE: "ILLEGAL OPERATORS NEVER PUNISHED"
Narek Aleksanyan
hetq
14:23, October 17, 2012
The issue of mini hydro-plants sprouting like mushrooms across Armenia
has been one of the most hotly contested issues of late in the country.
Local residents and environmental activists have, in many instances,
joined forces to stem the tide of construction or at least to see
that new ones are built according to legal norms.
Today, a number of sector specialists and civic organization reps
took part in a roundtable discussion on the matter. Here's what a
few had to say.
Inga Zarafyan (President of Ecolur NGO) - These mini hydro-plants
should not be operated for at least two months of the year, especially
in the summer. Sadly, everywhere you look the opposite is happening.
The energy now produced by these mini-plants comprises 10% of what's
consumed. The price were paying to pipe our rivers is tremendous and
the environment is being defiled.
Aram Gabrielyan (Coordinator of the UN's Climate Change Framework
Convention in Armenia) - We must compare energy security and
environmental security and try to understand which one is paramount
for us.
>From a socio-economic viewpoint, hydro-plants provide little benefit
to local residents. The owners are the real beneficiaries. Most of
the work is automated, so any talk about new jobs is absurd.
Gevorg Petrosyan (Gyumri Aarhaus Center Coordinator) - In certain
cases the entire river has been piped and siphoned off; for example
the Yeghnajour River.
Two islands in the Shirak Arpi Reservoir that are listed in the Red
Book as endemic bird nesting grounds have now been transformed into
peninsulas. The reason is the large quantity of water being piped
off by the hydro-plants.
In Armenia, hydro-plants are operated without taking into account the
opinion of the real owners of the land and water; the citizens. There
is no defined mechanism for public participation in the process.
For the most part, the various state ministries give their consent
to such projects, and these projects are constructed and operated in
a manner that clearly violates all normal standards.
There has yet to be a case in Armenia when an owner of an illegally
operating hydro-plant is legally prosecuted.
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Narek Aleksanyan
hetq
14:23, October 17, 2012
The issue of mini hydro-plants sprouting like mushrooms across Armenia
has been one of the most hotly contested issues of late in the country.
Local residents and environmental activists have, in many instances,
joined forces to stem the tide of construction or at least to see
that new ones are built according to legal norms.
Today, a number of sector specialists and civic organization reps
took part in a roundtable discussion on the matter. Here's what a
few had to say.
Inga Zarafyan (President of Ecolur NGO) - These mini hydro-plants
should not be operated for at least two months of the year, especially
in the summer. Sadly, everywhere you look the opposite is happening.
The energy now produced by these mini-plants comprises 10% of what's
consumed. The price were paying to pipe our rivers is tremendous and
the environment is being defiled.
Aram Gabrielyan (Coordinator of the UN's Climate Change Framework
Convention in Armenia) - We must compare energy security and
environmental security and try to understand which one is paramount
for us.
>From a socio-economic viewpoint, hydro-plants provide little benefit
to local residents. The owners are the real beneficiaries. Most of
the work is automated, so any talk about new jobs is absurd.
Gevorg Petrosyan (Gyumri Aarhaus Center Coordinator) - In certain
cases the entire river has been piped and siphoned off; for example
the Yeghnajour River.
Two islands in the Shirak Arpi Reservoir that are listed in the Red
Book as endemic bird nesting grounds have now been transformed into
peninsulas. The reason is the large quantity of water being piped
off by the hydro-plants.
In Armenia, hydro-plants are operated without taking into account the
opinion of the real owners of the land and water; the citizens. There
is no defined mechanism for public participation in the process.
For the most part, the various state ministries give their consent
to such projects, and these projects are constructed and operated in
a manner that clearly violates all normal standards.
There has yet to be a case in Armenia when an owner of an illegally
operating hydro-plant is legally prosecuted.
Home page