Azerbaijan - Overview

Status and trends of biodiversity, including benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services

Situated at the juncture of several bio-geographical areas, the country contains species of European, Central Asian and Mediterranean origin and forms an integral part of the Caucasus Ecoregion (a region with exceptional levels of biodiversity according to the WWF’s Global 200 Project). Azerbaijan also shares the Caspian Sea with four other countries (Russia, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan)... More »

Main pressures on and drivers of change to biodiversity (direct and indirect)

The main pressures on Azerbaijan’s biodiversity include: (i) land degradation (extensive salinization, widespread soil erosion, weak regulation of building and construction activities, and pervasive use of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides); (ii) habitat fragmentation (harvesting of timber, conversion of grasslands... More »

Implementation of the NBSAP

To date, implementation of the National Strategy and Plan of Action on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in the Republic of Azerbaijan (2006-2010) has resulted in the completion of 2 of the 13 overarching activities contained in the Action Plan (the remaining activities are either ongoing or have been partially implemented)... More »

Actions taken to achieve the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets

The fifth national report (April 2014) indicates that, to date, the country has made “good progress” in regard to actions taken to achieve Target 10 (pressures on vulnerable ecosystems reduced), Target 12 (extinction prevented), Target 13 (genetic diversity maintained), Target 15 (ecosystems restored and resilience enhanced) and Target 17 (NBSAPs adopted as policy instrument)... More »

Support mechanisms for national implementation (legislation, funding, capacity-building, coordination, mainstreaming, etc.)

Key biodiversity mainstreaming activities undertaken in the last four years for each of the key production sectors in Azerbaijan are described below:

− Energy sector: wind farm in the Gobustan rayon; hybrid solar-wind farm projects in Gobustan and Absheron; Yashma wind park project; Sumgait Power Station project; optimization of AzDRES; biogas installations in 5 upland villages; Balakhani Landfill projects; ISO 14001-compliant EMS developed for BP; and SOCAR ‘zero-waste’ strategy... More »

Mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing implementation

Azerbaijan does not yet have a consolidated biodiversity monitoring system that would enable it to systematically report on progress in the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets. However, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources (MENR) is developing a National Biodiversity Monitoring System (NBMS)... More »