BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5. Building efforts in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan are carried out based on ecological approaches, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Rashad Ismayilov said at the international conference dedicated to World Environment Day (WED) in Baku under the slogan "Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For our Future" today, Trend reports.
"Today, for the first time, our country is hosting World Environment Day in partnership with the UN Environment Program. This is an important indicator of Azerbaijan's active participation in the global environmental agenda, its open approach to international cooperation, and the importance it attaches to environmental protection," he noted.
According to him, environmental protection is the shared responsibility of not only individual countries, but also the entire international community.
"Environmental issues know no borders and are transboundary in nature. The environment we live in, the nature we benefit from, forests and biodiversity, oceans and seas, rivers, and the air we breathe are our common wealth. We must jointly and harmoniously ensure economic development, social well-being, and ecological balance. Our country is implementing large-scale projects in the field of 'green' development and the use of renewable energy sources. The goal is to increase the share of renewable energy to 30% by 2030. This creates a basis for us, as a party to the Paris Agreement, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.
Unfortunately, for many years, serious damage had been caused to natural resources, ecosystems, flora, and fauna in our territories during the Armenian occupation. Ecocide, herbicide, and culturicide cases had been allowed.
Currently, large-scale restoration and construction work in the Karabakh and East Zangezur regions within the Great Return state program in the liberated territories is being carried out on the basis of ecological approaches.
Azerbaijan has received expert support from the UN Environment Program to support the ecological restoration process in the Karabakh and East Zangezur regions, and we express our gratitude to the organization for this support," the minister pointed out.
