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"NO FISH, NO PROBLEM": CAN THE DAMAGE DONE BY SHPS IN ARMENIA BE REMEDIED?
Kristine Aghalaryan
14:26, October 25, 2013
Armenia's rivers and streams are drying up. The culprit is greed in
the form of small hydro-electric plants. They're popping up all over
the place.
Not only are the sprouting like mushrooms, but the owners seem bent
on using every last drop of water available, leaving a mere trickle
to flow downstream. It's an environmental nightmare.
That was the picture painted by Inessa Gabayan today in her report
"The Prospects of Low Carbon in Armenia" delivered at today's session
of the 5th Renewable and Clean Energy International Conference and
Exhibition in Yerevan.
Gabayan is the director of HydroEnergetica, a Yerevan-based firm
offering environmental and engineering evaluation and expertise,
among other services.
During her talk, Gabayan presented her firm's program for the sustained
development of SHPs (small hydro plants), that is being implemented
with financing from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The program, launched in 2011 seeks to identify the various social
and environmental issues associated with SHPs and proposes a number
of remedies.
Gabayan drew parallels with Norway, which has developed the SHP sector
for the past thirty years.
There, as opposed to Armenia, local communities are brought into the
decision-making equation. Gabayan says the same can be done here,
although she confesses that it won't be easy to adopt the Norwegian
model given conditions in Armenia.
Nevertheless, she said that certain steps can be taken so that
community residents actually derive a benefit from the construction
of SHPs. For example, projects that assist the development of
local infrastructure, like the construction of waterways, should be
promoted. Later on, a SHP can be built.
Projects that will have a minimal impact on the local environment
should be given priority, Gabayan noted. She proposed that residents
of a community where a SHP is built should receive cheaper electricity
rates. In Armenia, residents of many communities aren't even informed
that a SHP is to be built in their backyard.
Focusing on the environmental impact of SHPs, Gabayan noted that the
biggest problem is to ensure that adequate ecological outflows are
maintained so that the river ecosystem is maintained. She said that
one solution is to install equipment now being used in Norway.
Addressing the problem of diminishing native fish populations in
Armenia, Gabayan argued that the first step should be to compose a
national atlas of the country's waterways that would specify SHP
free zones. In Norway, the government has banned SHPs on salmon
spawning rivers.
She also presented the results of a study conducted by her husband,
Grigor Gabayan (now travelling abroad) which states that there
isn't one fish ladder/fishway in Armenia today that ensures normal
migration upriver. Mrs. Gabayan said her husband inspected a total
of 200 such facilities.
At this point, someone in the audience exclaimed, "No fish, no
problem. That's the operating principle."
Mrs. Gabayan said it is also necessary to publicize how Environmental
Impact Assessments (EIPs) are drafted, as there are no real guidelines
or manuals on the subject.
She said that while there has been an increase in the construction
of SHPs in Armenia over the past ten years, their socio-economic and
environmental impact remains unclear.
Mrs. Gabayan noted that it was time to review the legal aspects and
regulations regarding EIPs, pointing out that the process for SHPs
is basically the same as for atomic power plants.
http://hetq.am/eng/news/30261/no-fish-no-problem-can-the-damage-done-by-shps-in-armenia-be-remedied?.html
Kristine Aghalaryan
14:26, October 25, 2013
Armenia's rivers and streams are drying up. The culprit is greed in
the form of small hydro-electric plants. They're popping up all over
the place.
Not only are the sprouting like mushrooms, but the owners seem bent
on using every last drop of water available, leaving a mere trickle
to flow downstream. It's an environmental nightmare.
That was the picture painted by Inessa Gabayan today in her report
"The Prospects of Low Carbon in Armenia" delivered at today's session
of the 5th Renewable and Clean Energy International Conference and
Exhibition in Yerevan.
Gabayan is the director of HydroEnergetica, a Yerevan-based firm
offering environmental and engineering evaluation and expertise,
among other services.
During her talk, Gabayan presented her firm's program for the sustained
development of SHPs (small hydro plants), that is being implemented
with financing from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The program, launched in 2011 seeks to identify the various social
and environmental issues associated with SHPs and proposes a number
of remedies.
Gabayan drew parallels with Norway, which has developed the SHP sector
for the past thirty years.
There, as opposed to Armenia, local communities are brought into the
decision-making equation. Gabayan says the same can be done here,
although she confesses that it won't be easy to adopt the Norwegian
model given conditions in Armenia.
Nevertheless, she said that certain steps can be taken so that
community residents actually derive a benefit from the construction
of SHPs. For example, projects that assist the development of
local infrastructure, like the construction of waterways, should be
promoted. Later on, a SHP can be built.
Projects that will have a minimal impact on the local environment
should be given priority, Gabayan noted. She proposed that residents
of a community where a SHP is built should receive cheaper electricity
rates. In Armenia, residents of many communities aren't even informed
that a SHP is to be built in their backyard.
Focusing on the environmental impact of SHPs, Gabayan noted that the
biggest problem is to ensure that adequate ecological outflows are
maintained so that the river ecosystem is maintained. She said that
one solution is to install equipment now being used in Norway.
Addressing the problem of diminishing native fish populations in
Armenia, Gabayan argued that the first step should be to compose a
national atlas of the country's waterways that would specify SHP
free zones. In Norway, the government has banned SHPs on salmon
spawning rivers.
She also presented the results of a study conducted by her husband,
Grigor Gabayan (now travelling abroad) which states that there
isn't one fish ladder/fishway in Armenia today that ensures normal
migration upriver. Mrs. Gabayan said her husband inspected a total
of 200 such facilities.
At this point, someone in the audience exclaimed, "No fish, no
problem. That's the operating principle."
Mrs. Gabayan said it is also necessary to publicize how Environmental
Impact Assessments (EIPs) are drafted, as there are no real guidelines
or manuals on the subject.
She said that while there has been an increase in the construction
of SHPs in Armenia over the past ten years, their socio-economic and
environmental impact remains unclear.
Mrs. Gabayan noted that it was time to review the legal aspects and
regulations regarding EIPs, pointing out that the process for SHPs
is basically the same as for atomic power plants.
http://hetq.am/eng/news/30261/no-fish-no-problem-can-the-damage-done-by-shps-in-armenia-be-remedied?.html