Azg Daily, Armenia
April 15 2010

RIVERS TO BRIDGE THE CAUCASUS DIVIDE

By Aghavni Harutyunyan

It’s an article from the series of publications about the regional
projects funded by the European Union. In the articles we present the
state and results of the projects implemented in the region. This
article touches upon the Transboundary river management for the Kura
river project.

The project aims to improve the water quality in the Kura River basin
through trans-boundary cooperation and implementation of the
integrated water resources management approach. The project supports
the development of a common monitoring and information management
system to improve transboundary cooperation and enhances the
capacities of environmental authorities and monitoring establishments
engaged in long-term integrated water resources management in the Kura
River basin.

The Kura River and its tributaries span a vast geographical area
embracing, among others, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The
EU-funded Kura River basin transboundary river management project aims
to improve the quality of natural water resources and help the three
South Caucasus countries preserve their common natural heritage.
Armenia’s role in this task is to look after one of the Kura’s largest
tributaries, the Aras River, which originates in Turkey, flows through
Armenia and meets the Kura downstream in Azerbaijan.

The community angle

Alaverdi, Armenia ` At the bottom of the Debed River gorge, nestled in
the folds of rugged mountains in the far north of Armenia near the
Georgian border, lies the small town of Alaverdi. The river that runs
through the town is the heart of the local community.

"In summer, the river becomes a recreation area for the small nearby
town of Alaverdi," says local resident Gayane Poghosyan, 48. "Local
people descend on its banks to relax, as they can’t go elsewhere. We
swim and catch fish here."

But since the 18th century, Alaverdi has also been home to copper
mines, and the town today still hosts an important mining complex,
often blamed by Armenia’s neighbours for polluting the waters of the
river. Residents are unwilling to point fingers, but they too say the
river is not as clean as it used to be.

"The citizens of Alaverdi don’t want to speak about the river in
public," says one elderly man, identified only as comrade Barseghyan.
"There is still some fish here but frankly the number of species is
down." Others say the water is dirty because "people dump things into
the river". But they avoid blaming any particular industrial polluter
located in the vicinity. "It’s none of my business," one says.

Project leader:"To avoid the mistakes of the West"

For the EU-funded Kura River project, however, such problems are the
core of its business. And for project team leader in Armenia Anatoli
Pichugin, things are not as bad as they seem: "People tend to
overdramatize, often exaggerating problems. Of course there are
problems, but the waters are mostly clean since industry never
developed fully in Armenia. The country can still boast ample water
resources."

"The objective now is to avoid the mistakes of the West," he says.

The project, funded by the EU with a total of ?¬5.2 million from
2008-2011, aims to enhance the capacities of national environmental
authorities, monitor national operators engaged in long-term
integrated water resource management and help them understand that
with the constantly increasing pressure on water resources, it is
better to prevent pollution than fight its consequences. One of its
key components is the application of the EU Water Framework Directive
on the basis of individual river basin management projects worked out
in each participating country.

Pichugin says there are two main problems in the Aras River basin,
communal sewage disposal and the rubbish that people dump in the
river, but adds it is cleaner than many European rivers.

Volodya Narimanyan is deputy head of the Water Resources Management
Agency of the Armenian Ministry for Nature Protection. He says the
Armenian partners of the project have already completed the
introduction of the legislative-institutional amendments.

"We seek convergence with EU legislation by including the clauses of
the EU Water Framework Directive into our national legislation and
regulations," says Narimanyan, adding that the water basin management
projects in Armenia are well on the way, with the Debed and Aghstev
selected as pilot rivers.

"In the framework of this project, draft management plans for the
basins of Debed and Aghstev are being worked out as the methodological
groundwork for the management of a further six selected basins," says
Narimanyan.

Monitoring the rivers together

The project in Armenia is due to receive technical support for its
monitoring activities, and will develop a database platform to provide
information on trans-boundary rivers.

In the framework of the project, joint monitoring is carried out by
the Armenian Environmental Monitoring Centre with the participation of
national teams. Water specimens are sent to international laboratories
for analysis. "These tests show that the Khrami River in Georgia is
more polluted than the Debed River [in Armenia]. Now, the Georgian
experts no longer insist that Armenia pollutes the Kura. Even
Azerbaijan has toned down its accusations," says Seyran Minasyan,
deputy head of the Centre.

Vahagn Tonoyan, the Armenian national coordinator and expert in water
resources management, agrees: "The South Caucasian countries
frequently accuse each other of pollution. In reality, they haven’t
carried out joint monitoring before to see the reason of the
differences in the indices."

The national coordinator says the three countries should work towards
common methodologies in taking and examining water samples as a way to
stop making unsubstantiated accusations against each other, and hopes
the progress made can outlive the project. "We hope that some
initiatives, for example, the joint monitoring project will be
continued by the South Caucasian countries without foreign financial
support," says Tonoyan.

On the banks of the Deved in Aleverdi, however, residents remain
convinced that their waters are polluted, highlighting the need for
credible information, a gap the EU-funded river project aims to fill,
keeping the public informed of any potential threat to the
environment.

Lusine Taslakyan, expert on public participation and capacity
building, believes openness is crucial, and the first tangible result
of efforts to increase public awareness will be a brochure about the
River Aras. According to her, "It will help attract public interest to
the history and culture of the Aras River. The purpose is not only to
present the Aras basin but also to draw people closer to nature" ` an
essential first step to ensure public participation in saving a common
heritage.