Azerbaijan plans new national park in liberated territories, says ecology official

Azerbaijan is considering the possibility of creating a new national park that will cover parts of the administrative territories of the liberated Shusha, Khojaly, Aghdara and Kalbajar districts, said Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Vugar Karimov.

He made the remarks at the event “Linking climate and biodiversity: integrated solutions for a sustainable future” within the ongoing COP29 climate change conference in Baku on November 21, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

“We have already started surveying and assessing areas for a new national park, which will be an important step in preserving the ecosystems of the liberated territories,” the deputy minister said.

He added that within the framework of the Action Plan for declaring 2024 as the “Year of Solidarity for a Green World”, the process of establishing two new national parks is being finalised: the Bozdag-Adjinohur National Park with an area of 23,902 hectares and the Ilisu National Park, which is formed on the basis of the Ilisu State Nature Reserve with an area of 13,966 hectares.

In addition, work is underway to create 10 micro-reserves for the protection of rare flora species, assigning them the status of natural monuments, as well as creating a geological park on the territory of a number of mud volcanoes, Karimov said.

By Khagan Isayev