The decline in the level of the Caspian Sea is becoming an increasingly pressing environmental issue, requiring stronger international cooperation, Mukhtar Babayev, the Azerbaijani president’s representative on climate issues, said on September 7.
Speaking at the opening of Baku Climate Action Week, Babayev said the shrinking sea was affecting ecosystems, communities, navigation and economic activity across the region, Caliber.Az reports.
“For our region, the decline of the Caspian Sea is becoming more alarming with each passing year, affecting ecosystems, communities, navigation, and economic activity. [...] It must be ensured that shared waters do not become a source of tension. On the contrary, but instead become drivers of cooperation, stability and shared prosperity. Thank you for us, and the climate change agenda received the highest political attention under the leadership of His Excellency the President Ilham Aliyev,” he said.
Babayev said measures to address climate change were focused on protecting people, economies and natural resources from changes that are already occurring.
He added that under President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan had sought to raise the issue on regional and international agendas and strengthen dialogue among the Caspian states.
“Shared water requires shared responsibility. More than 3 billion people live in transborder river and lake basins, and climate change is placing growing pressure of these shared resources,” he stressed.
By Sabina Mammadli
