Brief information on the international/regional/national projects and scientific research programs related to the Lake Sevan is presented below.
International Programs/Projects
The EU-funded Shared Environmental Information System II EAST (SEIS-II) project ran from 2016-2020 in six Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The Project was financed by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) under the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI).
The main objective of the project was to support implementation of the principles and practices of the Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS) and to strengthen the regular reporting process including production of environmental indicators and assessment reports.
Project used the EEA’s expertise on best national practices in EU Member States to develop the institutional capacities of environmental and statistical authorities in the Eastern Partnership countries. The project developed institutional capacity in environmental assessment and accounting and communication by introducing tested methodologies and tools in order to increase reporting of relevant data flows, with simultaneous improvements in quality of reported data and use of data/information (indicators and assessments).
One of the key tasks of the Project was to support Armenia in expanding Lake Sevan water information portal to the national level so as to improve their capacity in meeting the commitments towards the regional/international reporting obligations. The national was focused on the experimental implementation of online data sharing among those institutions responsible either for monitoring of water quality or managing the water resources.
The Project used the development of two water quality indicators (C-10 and C-11) as testing the implementation of standard data dictionaries of the State of Environment Reporting of the Water Information System for Europe. In addition, it supported developing and operationalising data exchange protocol among the related national institutions for online data collection and processing EIONET and WISE experiences on quality check and assurance together with dissemination and visualisation of outputs also have been shared with national institutions and capacity of the national experts.
As one of the main results of the SEIS-II Project, the water component of the Armenian Ecoportal was launched in 2020. For more information on the SEIS-II Project achievements in Armenia is please download the file below.
DonwloadENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION OF LAKE SEVAN (EU4SEVAN) PROJECT
Duration: September 2020 – August 2024 (48 months)
Location: Gegharkunik Region,
RA
Implementing Partners: GIZ and UNDP
Total Project Budget: € 5,769,199
EUR
EU Contribution: € 5,000,664
Brief description
The EU4Sevan: Environmental Protection of Lake Sevan Project is co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and jointly implemented under a Multi-Partner Contribution Agreement by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Project is part of the EU Action “EU4Energy Efficiency and Environment” and the BMZ-funded programme “Management of natural resources and safeguarding of ecosystem services for sustainable rural development in the South Caucasus” (ECOserve). The Project’s overall objective is to enhance the environmental protection of Lake Sevan, which is the largest freshwater lake in the Caucasus Region. Lake Sevan is the most significant source of freshwater, irrigation water, aquaculture, as well as hydropower in Armenia. Its condition has direct bearing on the region’s environmental health and Armenia’s economic potential. Main beneficiaries of the project are people living in Gegharkunik region. Key partners of the project are the Ministry of Environment of Republic of Armenia, Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, Ministry of Territorial Administration,and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia.
Challenges
Lake Sevan is the most significant source of freshwater, irrigation water, aquaculture, as well as hydropower source in Armenia. Its condition has direct bearing on the region’s environmental health and Armenia’s economic potential. To address wider environmental issues as well as to protect major water sources, like Lake Sevan from contamination, regulations and their enforcement need to be revised. Since Armenia’s independence in 1991, the deterioration of water supply and sanitation infrastructure and related service delivery mechanisms have impacted the quality and management of water, making it a crucial issue on the development agenda. Currently, only twothirds of the country’s population (mostly urban) is connected to sewerage-collection systems. About 20% of these networks are connected to sewer treatment facilities, all built before independence, in the Soviet era. Most of these facilities are not functional due to aging, faulty and/or missing infrastructure in wastewater and sewage treatment. Besides the untreated municipal wastewater, diffuse pollution from agriculture, e.g., from mineral and organic fertilizers and manure, is affecting Lake Sevan’s water quality.
This agricultural pollution from several settlements in the basin located on the coastal zone of the Lake Sevan directly flows into the lake. Lack of monitoring data on the quality and quantity of water resources and on the status of ecosystems is another challenge in the Sevan basin. While significant progress is being made – also with support from the EU – there are still important gaps to be filled. In many cases, the resource users (households, farmers, employees of state agencies and public facilities), but also civil society in general, lack environmental awareness, information and know-how that is necessary for the protection of the Lake’s water from pollution through and a more sustainable and biodiversity friendly management and use of resources. Not least, current water uses in the Sevan basin – including excessive transfers of Lake Sevan’s water through SevanHrazdan Cascade for generation of hydropower and irrigation – causes disturbance in aquatic life. The governance of water resources and ecosystems needs to be strengthened to ensure efficient use of water resources and prevent the overuse of Sevan Lake water.
Project Activities
This project builds on existing achievements and plans and complements and supports capacity development interventions through five outputs which are mutually interlinked and highly complementary to each other:
- Improved water monitoring and management capacities for Lake Sevan watershed.
- Improved ecosystem-friendly and water-protecting land-use and cultivation practices.
- Improved wastewater management capacities.
- Availability for the protection of Lake Sevan is enhanced among basin communities, the private sector, and other stakeholders.
- The Lake Sevan ecosytem governance is further improved.
Political Partners
The RA Ministry of Environment is the key partner of the project. The Ministry has a wide scope of authority for natural resources protection.
Other key partners are RA Ministry of Economy, which is responsible for the agricultural sector, and the RA Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, which is in charge of local governance and infrastructure.
Project Partners
Gegharkunik Regional Administration (Marzpetaran) is responsible for and implements the territorial policy of the government at the regional level, coordinates the activities of the territorial services of the republican executive bodies.
The Water Committee is a public agency, operational in the system of governance of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia, which develops and implements the policy of the Government of the Republic of Armenia regarding the management and use of state-owned water management systems.
The Hydrometeorological and Monitoring Center (ArmHydromet) contains two formerly separated entities, the Environmental Monitoring and Information Center (EMIC) and Service of Hydrometeorology and Active Influence on Atmospheric Phenomena. It is subordinate to the Ministry of Environment and implements the monitoring of surface and groundwater quality and quantity.
The National Academy of Sciences, particularly the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology and the Center for Ecological-Noosphere Studies carry out monitoring of Lake Sevan.
The Independent Commission on Lake Sevan, established in 2008 by a Presidential Decree, deals with the lake issues. The Commission has an annual action plan and is the main conduit of international development financial resources targeted at the lake.
The “Sevan National Park” State Non-commercial Organisation (SNCO) of the Ministry of Environment is the governing institution responsible for the protection of the National Park ecosystem’s landscape and biological diversity, natural heritage, for scientific research, inventory and monitoring, as well as for conservation, rehabilitation and sustainable use of natural resources. Sevan National Park is authorized for commercial operations as well and in overall responsible for day-to-day management of the Park.
Local stakeholders in the Sevan basin, particularly for the implementation of pilot measures, include local authorities and village communities, local NGOs and civil society organisations, farmers and farmers associations as well as private sector such as tourism operators, hotels and restaurants.
Brief Info:
Countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine
Duration: 2021-2024
Budget: EUR 12,75 million (EU contribution: EUR 12 million)
Implementing partners: Environment Agency Austria (UBA), Austrian Development Agency (ADA), International Office for Water (OiEau) (France), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations EconomicmCommission for Europe (UNECE)
Objectives:
The programme aims at improving people’s wellbeing in the EU’s Eastern partner countries and enabling their green transformation in line with the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The programme’s activities will be clustered around two specific objectives:
- Support a more sustainable use of freshwater resources through improved water policies and practices and help reduce the adverse impact of human activities on water quality and ecosystems
- Extend and improve the use of sound environmental statistics by the partner countries, and ensure reater availability of policy-relevant data for decision-makers and citizens.
Context:
Environmental and climate resilience and the promotion of fair and inclusive societies are among the key objectives on the post-2020 Eastern Partnership (EaP) agenda. It includes ambitious goals related to better air and water quality. A far-reaching Economic and Investment Plan will underpin this agenda, aiming to mobilise EUR 17 billion in investments.
The programme will help to speed up such investments into projects that reduce pollution. The programme is part of the Team Europe Initiative on Water and Zero Pollution, which aims at moving towards a toxic-free environment for all citizens is an area with a strong interest from partner countries.
Water Resources Management:
- The first cycle of river basin management planning is extended.
- Water strategies, policies and practices include climate-proofing measures.
- The implementation of water for health agenda makes progress.
- Novel approaches to water monitoring are further promoted.
- The economic soundness of water strategies and policies is improved.
- Water utilities, the private sector and the general public are more closely involved in water management.
- National and international water governance and cooperation are further strengthened.
- Priority measures are supported through finance mobilisation.
Environmental statistics and open data:
- Water accounting is extended.
- Land and agriculture monitoring and data are improved.
- Air and waste management data and statistics are improved for policy-relevant use.
- Open data and citizens’ participation in data collection and analysis are further operationalised.
- International sharing of data and networking is maintained.
Scientific Programs/Projects
| Project name: | 01DK20038 Building up science-based management instruments for Lake Sevan, Armenia (SEVAMOD2) |
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| Period: | 2020-2023 |
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| Project name: | 01DK20038 Building up science-based management instruments for Lake Sevan, Armenia (SEVAMOD2) |
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| Period: | 2020-2023 |
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| Project name: | 18RF-140 “Developing remote sensing method for assessing ecological state of mountainous lakes using the data of very high resolution” Armenian-Russian bilateral project |
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| Period: | 2018-2020 |
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The research is aimed at developing a remote sensing method for assessing ecological state of mountainous lakes using the data of very high resolution (< 2m). Main objectives include:
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| Project name: | 21T-1E145 "Seismotectonic Influences on slope processes in Sevan Lake basin" |
| Funding organization(s): | Committee on Higher Education and Science of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia |
| Period: | 2021-2024 |
| Description: | The studies of geological hazards and their interrelationship are of key importance for the Republic of Armenia, which has a relatively small area, where there are densely located active geological structures. In particular, assessment of the active slope processes in the Sevan Lake basin, and their potential, is of high priority taking into account the mountainous relief of the area, the existing young active faults with high seismic potential. Strong earthquakes in mountainous regions are one of the most important causes of large landslides and collapses, thus it is important to consider the role of seismic influence in their formation. A full assessment of the risk of slope processes will require the identification of the underwater continuation of the coastal slopes, as well as the structural features of the adjacent active faults, with the latest approaches. Given the dense population of the area and the presence of roads and railways of national importance, the evaluation of possible developments of dangerous slope processes, the interaction between different geological hazards and the cumulative hazard is essential. |
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| Project name: | 21T-1E147 "Microbialites (Sevanites) as archives of palaeoenvironmental evolution of Sevan Lake |
| Funding organization(s): | Committee on Higher Education and Science of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia |
| Period: | 2021-2024 |
| Description: | The microbialites (sevanites) found in the underwater and coastal part of Lake Sevan are biogenic sediment accumulations that were formed under favorable physico-chemical conditions, as a result of the activity of various metabolic taxa, including cyanobacteria. Climate, bio-productivity, volcanism and other variations of the environment can be recorded in microbialites and sedimentary material, and preserved fossil remains (pollen, spores, diatoms, molluscs, etc.) have great potential for detailed reconstruction of paleoenvironmental conditions. These perfect repositories are to be studied to compare the current endangered state of the Lake Sevan system with past conditions, in order to explain paleoenvironmental changes. Detailed mapping, petrographic analysis, dating (by 14C method), recording of chemical and biological conditions of the lake (XRF analysis), isotopic δ18O analysis for accumulation/evaporation ratio, δ13C analysis to reveal data on nutrient circulation and productivity in the lake will be carried out for comparison of coastal and underwater sevanites. For paleo and modern environmental conditions, and spore-pollen for vegetation and climate reconstruction Diatoms will be studied. |
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| Project name: | Copernicus assisted environmental monitoring across the Black Sea Basin – PONTOS |
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| Funding organization(s): | ENI CBC “Black Sea Basin Joint Operational Programme 2014-2020” |
| Period: | 2020-2022 |
| Description: | Copernicus assisted environmental monitoring across the Black Sea Basin-PONTOS is a 30-month project funded by the European Union’s ENI CBC Black Sea Basin Programme 2014-2020. The PONTOS makes information about the Black Sea environment from the EU Copernicus Earth Observation platform accessible to scientists, policymakers, citizens, and other relevant stakeholders. It utilizes information technologies to automatically retrieve Copernicus products, couples them with national or regional infrastructures for data acquisition and processing, and provides monitoring services for the Black Sea and the surrounding environment in a transboundary, standardized, and homogenized manner. The environmental monitoring system developed is tested in pilot sites across Armenia, Greece, Georgia, and Ukraine. |
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