German President attends opening ceremony of hydrometeorological measuring station near Lake Sevan

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier participated in the opening ceremony of a hydrometeorological measuring station near the Lchap community in Armenia’s Gegharkunik region.

In an interview with Armenpress, Armenian Deputy Minister of Environment Aram Meymaryan highlighted Armenian-German cooperation.

“We introduced the German President to Lake Sevan, Armenia’s largest freshwater lake, which is a key ecosystem vital to the country’s environmental balance and economic development. Due to climate change and human activity, the lake faces certain challenges. To address these issues, two programs are currently being implemented with co-financing from the German government and the European Union,” he said.

The first initiative, the “EU for Sevan” program, aims to tackle various environmental challenges, focusing on sustainable agriculture and obtaining up-to-date environmental monitoring data.

Meymaryan noted that the program has significantly improved monitoring of Lake Sevan’s water quality and quantity, aligning with international standards. This allows for science-based decision-making to preserve and develop the lake.

The Deputy Minister informed that they presented the program’s achievements to the German President. Community representatives also engaged in discussions on Lake Sevan’s challenges and potential solutions. He assured that such programs would continue.

Levon Azizyan, Director of the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center SNCO, stated that the newly installed meteorological station on Lake Sevan’s shore would provide essential data on precipitation, air and water temperature, and evaporation. This will enhance water balance assessments and improve decision-making.

Azizyan added that in 2023, the Armenian government allocated 200 million drams to the Ministry of Environment, enabling the installation of meteorological stations across different regions. As a result, the meteorological observation network has been fully automated. Additionally, an all-terrain vehicle equipped with field multiparameter measuring instruments has been provided.

President Steinmeier personally participated in water sampling from Lake Sevan’s shore and examined the equipment. Following a physicochemical analysis, SNCO staff informed him that parameters such as electrical conductivity, acidity, temperature, chlorophyll, and total dissolved salts were within permissible limits. The results were deemed satisfactory.