Lake Sevan

From WaterWiki

1 About
2 Background
3 Lake Sevan Action Plan
4 Further resources, links, reference
5 Source

About

Lake Sevan—”The Heart of Armenia”—is one of the world’s largest alpine lakes. Located in the Minor Caucasus Mountains of Armenia, the lake has a central hydrological role in the country. The lake’s waters and the basin’s natural resources are considered to be the development pillars of the Armenian economy, providing a number of direct and indirect benefits. The lake’s watershed basin comprises one-sixth of Armenia’s total area, and it constitutes the primary water resource of the country, giving it both geographic and politically strategic importance. The waters of the lake provide a significant amount of hydropower and irrigation to the croplands in the Ararat Valley. The lake also provides habitat for fish and shellfish, nursery zones for many aquatic and amphibian species, and a resting place for numerous migratory birds. In addition to considerable tourism activities, the lake has been important as a cultural focus for the people of Armenia over many centuries, and a motivating feature of the nation’s history, poetry, and music.

Background

In the 1930s, a series of management decisions were taken by the Soviet Government which caused destabilization of Lake Sevan’s hydrology and ecology. The original plan called for reducing the lake's surface area, thereby reducing loss of water by evaporation and increasing the amount of water that could be taken each year. Thus water was taken from the lake for irrigation at rates substantially greater than the natural inflow, decreasing volume by 41 percent and lowering the water level by 19 meters over a period of approximately forty years.

In 1962, when the lake’s surface receded below 1,900 meters above sea level (asl) for the first time, algae blooms and oxygen depletion were noted, generating concerns about increasing rates of eutrophication. Soon, significant declines in the lake’s fishery harvest, constituting almost one-half of the nation’s entire supply, were noticed. Finally, it also became apparent that the lake’s capacity to provide a reserve for hydropower production and irrigation, as well as possible drinking water, was seriously threatened.

Lake Sevan Action Plan

A number of attempts have been made since the 1950s to increase the water level of Lake Sevan, with only limited results. In 1996, the Government of Armenia initiated the development of an Action Plan that would provide a framework for integrated management and a phased restoration of Lake Sevan. The preparation of the Action Plan was financed with a grant from the World Bank’s Institutional Development Fund (IDF), support from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and grants from the Governments of Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.

The Action Plan can be found here http://www.wrma.am/zip/sevanenglish.zip