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TOWARDS A SHARED ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (SEIS) IN THE EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD

The ENPI-SEIS project

Building a SEIS for SEVAN,

Water resources indicators

EEA What SEIS is

Since 2010, the European Union has to design and implement environmental been engaging the countries of the Eas- policy. Implementing SEIS helps target ac- tern Partnership – Armenia, , tions in three main areas: Belarus, , Moldova and Ukraine – in regional cooperation with the aim of im- • Cooperation – building partnerships proving national capacities for managing between the providers and users of and sharing environmental data and infor- data and information mation. This cooperation was funded by the European Commission and implemented • Common content – generating poli- by the European Environmental Agency cy-relevant and comparable information under the framework of the project “To­ wards a Shared Environmental Information • Common infrastructure – using shared System in the European Neighbourhood” and modern web-based information and (the ENPI-SEIS project). communication technologies

The overarching objective for building a As part of ENPI-SEIS, a pilot project was ini- Shared Environmental Information System tiated in 2014 to develop a sustainable and (SEIS) is to establish a regular process for regular data-sharing mechanism among environmental reporting and assessments the main data producers and data holders by sharing and using data and information for the basin in Armenia. Lake Sevan and importance of a SEIS

As the largest lake in the southern Lake Sevan provides: and one of the great freshwater • the most important source of fresh high mountain of , Lake water and freshwater fish in the Sevan is an Armenian natural and cultural South Caucasus region treasure. Among its many qualities, • an essential contribution to the Armenian economy • irrigation water for the croplands of the ed eb Alaverdi D Ararat Valley

Ijevan • hydropower, recreation and tourism v e st gh A • rich biological diversity and a relatively

Artik high percentage of endemic species Akhurian Res. Sevan 4090 of flora and fauna n

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K n Max length 3597 Lake Sevan • 78 km (2005) A R M E N I A Artashat Location Max width • Province, Ararat • 56 km (2005) Armenia Surface area 2 Vo ro Primary inflows ta • 1 245 km (2014) n • 28 rivers and streams • 1 236 km2 (2002) • 1 416 km2 (1933)

3829 Primary outflows Qazangodag • Evaporation (90%) Water volume • Hrazdan river • 37,7 km3 (2014) • 58,5 km3 (1933)

The water volume and surface area of lake • mining in the basin Sevan have varied significantly over the past • solid waste from households and enter- century. In response to historical decreases in prises the lake level, Armenia took environmental pro- tection and engineering measures to ensure Now, climate change is adding more stress: the maintenance of an optimal water regime. the reduced flows of the numerous rivers and streams that drain to the lake and the increa- Lake Sevan ecosystem still faces such pres- sing air temperatures are likely to cause the sures as: water quality of the lake to deteriorate.

• water withdrawals from the lake for hy- Adequate and timely environmental information dropower and irrigation on the state of Lake Sevan helps managers ob- • development of small hydropower serve the changes and trends that guide proper plants on the basin rivers management and decision-making. • agriculture and cattle-breeding i Sevan • untreated domestic wastewater An established Lake Sevan SEIS portal is an discharges into the lake efficient tool for the collection, presentation, • degradation of flooded forests and nu- and dissemination of data on environmental trient load into the lake indicators in the basin. Water indicators for Lake Sevan

1. Hydrometeorology and renewable 7. Access of population to centralized freshwater resources water supply • Temperature 8. Water losses • Precipitation • The same by water use sectors, by marzes • Evaporation (administrative units), CTEA, water basin 2. Renewable water resources management areas • Inflow and outflow of surface waters and groundwater 9. Reuse and recycling of water • Water balance of Lake Sevan 10. Drinking water quality 3. Freshwater abstraction 11. BOD and concentration of ammonium • The same by water abstraction purposes, nitrogen in rivers marzes (administrative units), CTEA, 12. Concentration of nutrients in fresh waters water basin management areas 13. Concentration of pollutants in lake 4. Water use water and in bottom sediments • The same by water use purposes,by marzes (administrative units), CTEA, water basin 14. Population connected to wastewater management areas treatment 5. Domestic water use per capita 15. Wastewater treatment facilities 6. Centralized water supply 16. Untreated wastewater • The same by wastewater category, marzes (administrative units), CTEA, water basin management areas Cooperation in Armenia

Various governmental organizations collect and the portal by gathering, updating and dis- and hold environmental information, contri- playing data on environmental indicators for bute to the content of the portal and provide Lake Sevan. The Ministry of Nature Protec- information on selected indicators by reporting tion provides relevant information and analy- to the National Statistical Service of Armenia. tical support. Data holders are responsible for The Statistical Service establishes the website quality control of the provided data.

Ministry of Nature Protection

Ministry of Territorial Administration & Ministry of Energy & Emergency Situations Natural Resources

Ministry of Health Ministry of Agriculture

National Statistical Service

Ministry of Transport & National Academy of Sciences Communication www.seis-sevan.am Infrastructure

The Lake Sevan portal provides a com- basin management area, year, month and mon infrastructure that enables the main monitoring station/observation point with data generating agencies to share and location. The complete final dataset is avail­ update environmental information related able for download so that various stakehol- to Lake Sevan. A separate access level al- ders can use it for any further processing. lows the general public to review and use the same information. Eventually the portal The data and related visuals meet interna- will provide: tional standards for geo-coding and classi- fication. Data visualization options include • definitions of 16 reported water indicators tables, graphs, charts and maps. Maps will • visual, textual and statistical material be possible to download in the .kml format • links to reporting organizations using Google Earth support tools. • links to national legislation and interna­ tional agreements Regular updating of data will be done by re­ spective reporting organizations depending Users of the Lake Sevan SEIS portal may on the monitoring and sampling timeframes select the following information from the prescribed by the relevant legal acts, and drop-down lists: indicator, sub-indicator, will be supervised by the entity responsible water object type (river, lake, reservoirs), for the maintenance of the portal.

The Lake Sevan portal is available at : www.seis-sevan.am in Armenian and English Nitrate ion (mg N / l) by stations 18-38, 2013 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 Nitrate ion (mg N / l) by stations 18-38, 2013 3.51 0.53 2.50 2 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 1.5 2013 1 0.5 0 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38

2013 BOD5 (mg O2 / l) by stations 18-38, 2013 3.5 3 2.5 2 BOD5 (mg O2 / l) by stations 18-38, 2013 1.5 3.51 0.53 2.50 2 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 1.5 2013 1 0.5 0 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38

2013

Lake Sevan water level, 1988-2014 1901 1900 1899 1898 1897 1896 1895 1894

1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Looking to the future

The SEIS Lake Sevan pilot project is syn- data and indicators in such areas as agricultu- chronized with the Armenian national plans re, biodiversity, energy, transport, emergency on environmental data optimization concer- response, mining, waste and climate change. ning Lake Sevan – a dedicated Resolution was adopted by the Armenian Government in The Lake Sevan SEIS is intended to contri- 2014. The expansion of the Lake Sevan SEIS bute to the development of SEIS at the na- may eventually include the development of tional level.

European Environment Agency Kongens Nytorv 6 1050 Copenhagen K Denmark EEA +45 33 36 71 00

Zoï Environment Network Chemin de Balexert 9 CH-1219 Châtelaine, Switzerland +41 22 917 83 42

Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia Government Building 3, Republic Square, Yerevan 0010, Republic of Armenia +374 11 818 506 [email protected]

National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia Government Building 3, Republic Square, Yerevan 0010, Republic of Armenia +374 11 524 213 [email protected]

More information on the ENPI-SEIS project is available at: http://enpi-seis.pbe.eea.europa.eu