Armenian President considers water and food security problems a  priority

ArmInfo.Issues related to water resources and water security were discussed during the meeting of the President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian with the chairman of the  public organization "National Water Cooperation" Arevik Hovsepyan,  the chairman of the information public organization "EcoLur" Inga  Zarafyan, the director of the company "Environment Group", the former  Minister of Nature Protection Eric Grigoryan.  

According to the press service of the RA President, noting that today  our country faces numerous challenges caused by the war, the global  economic crisis, the coronavirus pandemic, and many other reasons,  Sarkissian considered water and food security problems, which are  interconnected, to be no less important. 

He stressed that give  the global, regional development and  security-related challenges, it is also necessary to think about the  problems of water and food security. "The problems of water and food  security are a priority for us, and we must pay great attention to  these issues," the RA President emphasized.

The head of state expressed his readiness to listen to the opinions  and proposals of specialists and experts dealing with the problems of  this sphere, to find out what causes their concern, so that the  presidential institute, if possible, would help popularize these  problems, discuss and solve them.  Representatives of environmental  organizations considered these problems to be extremely urgent and  presented their concerns. In particular, the importance of effective  use of water resources, legislative and institutional decisions aimed  at this, reassessment of resources in connection with climate change  and scientific research of the processes taking place in this regard,  as well as changes in attitudes towards the use of water resources,  was emphasized.  

Emphasizing the priority of effective water resources management in  terms of ensuring food security, in particular, the interlocutors  expressed concern about the lack of line ministries.  It is  emphasized that in the case of joint ministries coordinating several  sectors, important problems receive less attention, dissolving into  common problems.  It should be noted that the well-known Armenian  ecologist, specialist in water resources Knarik Hovhannisyan noted  earlier in a conversation with ArmInfo that most of Armenia's reservoirs  are not filled properly due to the fact that their technical  condition leaves much to be desired. 

The expert snaid that our reservoirs are in need of calmotage.  She  also expressed her conviction that Armenia has the necessary amount  of water for consumption, and if it is used correctly, there should  not be a shortage. Hovhannisyan said that a year on our territory, a  water flow of about 7 billion cubic meters is formed, of which 3.8  cubic meters is surface runoff, and 3.2 cubic meters. m. -  underground runoff, which is represented by high quality waters,  which are used by households and industries. "But out of all this  large mass, in a rough estimate, we use only 2.5 billion cubic  meters. Everything else goes to our neighbors. That's the point.   Therefore, you should not look at what is happening with the Turks. 

These are their lands, they can do whatever they want. And we, in  turn, must be able to build reservoirs, delay the flow that forms on  our territory. If we manage to use our resources correctly, we are  not in danger of any warming, no "water hunger" ", - stated Knarik  Hovhannisyan, stressing that the country's water policy should be  reasonable and scientific.  Today in Armenia there are about 90  reservoirs of different volumes and sizes, and in the next five  years, judging by the government's plans, significant progress is  planned in this area. It is planned to build 4 new large reservoirs.  

A new reservoir will appear in Vedi - 29 million cubic meters,  Yeghvard - 90 million cubic meters, Kaps reservoir - at the first  stage - 25 million cubic meters, at the second - up to 60 million  cubic meters, as well as on the Selav and Mastara rivers - 10 million  cubic meters All this will be carried out within the framework of  credit programs and the costs of the programs will amount to about $  350-400 million. bank KFW, etc.