SFEWRA disseminates best practices of efficient water use

ICARE’s Sustainable Fisheries for Enhanced Water Resources in Armenia (SFEWRA) project and Participatory Utilization and Resource Efficiency of Water (PURE-Water) project implemented by Urban Foundation (both projects are funded by USAID) initiated a workshop on March 20- 21 to present the best practices of efficient underground water use by the fish farms involved in these projects. The first day of the workshop was dedicated to capacity building for fisheries operating in Ararat Valley, which included also the development of skills of presentation of their best practices by the fish farmers for the donors.

The workshop began by a presentation by ANAU faculty members of the possible diseases in the fish farms and measures of their prevention. Then the ICARE research team members worked individually with each of the participating fish farmers to prepare them for the presentations that they made on the next day in the presence of the USAID Country Director, Debora Grieser, the Governor of Armavir marz, Hambardzum Matevosyan, officials from the Ministry of Nature Protection and others stakeholders. The presentations covered best practices of efficient activities in a condition of scarce water resource.

Issues of legal regulation of fish farming were also addressed during the workshop.

Towards the end of the event, the participating fish farmers were awarded symbolic prizes, and the authors of the top three best practices were awarded water aerators. The SFEWRA team provided the beneficiaries with economically and environmentally sustainable models of efficient use of water resources that they have developed during the 3 and half years of the project for the participating fish farms.

Over the last 5 months, PURE-Water and SFEWRA have been working with the selected fish farms to disseminate the best practices of efficient water use throughout the entire fish farming sector.

Ahead of the end of the SFEWRA project, the ICARE’s team has succeeded in creating a selected ‘national’ team of progressive fish farmers who are now capable and willing to work together to address ambitious goals of the sector’s overall development.