Minister: level of Lake Sevan has risen by 25 centimeters in 2016
The level of Armenia’s largest Lake Sevan has risen by 25 centimeters this year, by 5 centimeters more than projected, nature protection minister Artsvik Minasyan told a parliamentary hearing on the 2017 draft budget on November 2, convened by several parliamentary committees.
"At the moment, Lake Sevan is 1,900.51 meters above sea level. Sevan’s rising waters have submerged large swathes of shore covered with man-made forests and now relevant bodies are cleansing the shore of trees and other vegetation,’ he said.
However, he added that if the current rate of land cleansing is maintained, the whole work will take 15 years, although the preventive felling is not only much cheaper but also more cost-effective. Minasyan said the work may accelerate if local residents are hired to assist, who can use the wood to hit their homes in cold winter months.
The minister also spoke about the dwindling reserve of fish in the lake, saying trout is available in Sevan largely thanks to a program for growing of small fish, but the situation with other endemic species of fish is very bad.
Lake Sevan, one of the largest alpine lakes in Europe and Asia, is located in the heart of the Armenian plateau, at an altitude of 1914 meters. Under the government’s long-term rehabilitation program, Sevan is to rise to 1,903.5 meters by 2029. -0-