Hydromorphology and Hydrobiology or River Ecosystems Changing Because of SHPPs: Expert Syran Minasyan

EcoLur

SHPPs jeopardize our waters and water ecosystem, as specialist in water ecosystems Seyran Minasyan said in his interview with EcoLur. “The main hazard is that more water is taken from SHPPs than it’s permissible. Besides, cascades of SHPPs destroy rivers and water ecosystems.”

River is considered an complete ecosystem and is characterized with three main components – hydromorphological, hydrobiological and hydrochemical. Under the specialist, the operation of SHPPs destroys main components – hydromorphological and hydrochemical. “The temperature in SHPP increases, and though the chemical composition of water doesn’t change, it changes the hydromorphology and hydrobiology of the whole river system. In this regard, SHPPs naturally have huge adversary impact,” Seyran Minasyan said.

What about the environmental flow preserved in the rivers, the specialist mentioned, “We still calculate environmental flow with the methodology from the Soviet years, as so little water is left in the river that the river ecosystem can’t be conserved under such water conditions.”

This material  was made possible through the full support of Open Society Foundations – Armenia’s Policy Fellowship Program Initiative, grant number 18571. Ideas, thoughts, and arguments presented in the paper are the sole expression of the author’s views and do not reflect those of Open Society Assistance Foundations – Armenia.

March 20, 2014 at 11:22