To rescue or to waste? What is the future Lake Sevan will face?

The project was selected by l’Institut Français “Science” (transfer of scientific culture)

Lake Sevan is the largest freshwater alpine lake of nowadays Armenia and the ancient Armenian Kingdom. The Lake provided a significant share in the fish supply of Armenia in the past and is a natural resource of strategic drinking water for the country.

Nevertheless, at present it is seriously endangered.

As a result of extended agriculture during the Soviet period, and growing needs for irrigation and energetic demands of water resource utilization in the recent years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Lake ecosystem balance has completely changed. The country’s main agricultural scope up to present is accumulated on the Lake water resources. Although agro-husbandry as well as entertainment and cultural tourism are the mainly developing sectors in the Lake Sevan basin, the overall enhancement of those activities can further jeopardize the already threatened ecosystem of the Lake.

The main aim of the project is to raise public and especially youth awareness of scientific information available on current ecological situation of Lake Sevan that resulted from fifty years of human activities, which caused disruption of the 100,000 years’ balance of the Lake ecosystem.