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ARMENIAN ENVIRONMENTALISTS ASK PRESIDENT SARGSYAN TO BAN CONSTRUCTION OF FISH FARMS ON LAKE SEVAN
YEREVAN, March 17. / ARKA /. Armenian environmentalists will send
an open letter to President Serzh Sargsyan asking him to ban planned
increased water releases from Lake Sevan, Gagik Tadevosyan, a former
chairman of a parliament committee on social, health and environment
issues and a co-author of the law on Lake Sevan, said to a news
conference today.
On January 30 the Armenian government approved an increase in the
release of irrigation water from the lake from the current 170 million
to 240 million cubic meters per year until 2019. The parliament will
hold hearings on this issue on March 19.
According to Tadevosyan, the increased water release can cause
considerable damage to the lake. He said the letter will be signed
by several environmental organizations, including the Environmental
Public Union and the Environmental Information Centre (Aarhus centers)
of Gegharkunik region and Yerevan.
Tadevosyan said he did not believe that the annual water release
would not exceed 240 million cubic meters. According to him, the
government may exceed the target in a bid to stop desertification of
the Ararat valley resulting from ruthless use of underground water
by local fish farms.
He said government's plans to build 74 fish farms on Lake Sevan which
are expected to use 50,000 tons of artificial feeds in the form of
nitrogen, phosphorus and other chemical mixtures for small fish would
pollute the lake and make it a swamp.
He said the environmentalists demand that the president bans the
construction of these fish farms because it is a breach of the law
on Lake Sevan that forbids any kind of economic activity that would
have a detrimental impact on its ecosystem.
Lake Sevan is the largest lake in Armenia and the South Caucasus
region and one of the largest fresh-water high-altitude lakes in the
world. The lake is situated in the central part of the Republic of
Armenia, at the altitude of over 1,900m above sea level. It is fed
by 28 rivers and streams. -0-
- See more at:
http://arka.am/en/news/society/armenian_environmentalists_ask_president_sargsyan_ to_ban_construction_of_fish_farms_on_lake_sevan/#sthash.7WMwPmfi.dpuf
YEREVAN, March 17. / ARKA /. Armenian environmentalists will send
an open letter to President Serzh Sargsyan asking him to ban planned
increased water releases from Lake Sevan, Gagik Tadevosyan, a former
chairman of a parliament committee on social, health and environment
issues and a co-author of the law on Lake Sevan, said to a news
conference today.
On January 30 the Armenian government approved an increase in the
release of irrigation water from the lake from the current 170 million
to 240 million cubic meters per year until 2019. The parliament will
hold hearings on this issue on March 19.
According to Tadevosyan, the increased water release can cause
considerable damage to the lake. He said the letter will be signed
by several environmental organizations, including the Environmental
Public Union and the Environmental Information Centre (Aarhus centers)
of Gegharkunik region and Yerevan.
Tadevosyan said he did not believe that the annual water release
would not exceed 240 million cubic meters. According to him, the
government may exceed the target in a bid to stop desertification of
the Ararat valley resulting from ruthless use of underground water
by local fish farms.
He said government's plans to build 74 fish farms on Lake Sevan which
are expected to use 50,000 tons of artificial feeds in the form of
nitrogen, phosphorus and other chemical mixtures for small fish would
pollute the lake and make it a swamp.
He said the environmentalists demand that the president bans the
construction of these fish farms because it is a breach of the law
on Lake Sevan that forbids any kind of economic activity that would
have a detrimental impact on its ecosystem.
Lake Sevan is the largest lake in Armenia and the South Caucasus
region and one of the largest fresh-water high-altitude lakes in the
world. The lake is situated in the central part of the Republic of
Armenia, at the altitude of over 1,900m above sea level. It is fed
by 28 rivers and streams. -0-
- See more at:
http://arka.am/en/news/society/armenian_environmentalists_ask_president_sargsyan_ to_ban_construction_of_fish_farms_on_lake_sevan/#sthash.7WMwPmfi.dpuf