Azerbaijani environmental group urges Armenia to meet its obligations

Environmental concerns over transboundary rivers in the South Caucasus have resurfaced on World Environment Day, with activists urging Armenia to meet its international obligations and calling for broader regional and global attention to the ecological impact of mining and water pollution. 

"World Environment Day is being marked today, a date that once again highlights environmental challenges in the South Caucasus, particularly the state of transboundary rivers. We have documented evidence of environmental damage caused by Armenia’s mining industry to the environment of Azerbaijan and the wider South Caucasus, and have prepared a separate cartographic study on the issue," said co-founder of the Environmental Protection First coalition Amin Mammadov, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

He said Armenia’s fulfilment of obligations under the Espoo Convention should also be considered part of the broader peace agenda.

“We call on the UN, the European Union and other relevant international organizations to pay special attention to regional environmental initiatives of civil society and to the ecological condition of transboundary rivers between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he noted.

Amin Mammadov also stressed that the Araz River is transboundary for Iran as well. In this regard, he said it would be desirable for Iran to join the Espoo Convention, as pollution of the Araz River causes serious harm to Azerbaijan as a downstream country, as well as to the Caspian Sea and the wider region.

By Vafa Guliyeva