Armenians cut down more than 54 thousand hectares of forests in Karabakh and adjacent regions - Ministry of Ecology

Baku/29.01.21/Turan: For three decades of the occupation of Azerbaijani territory by the Armenians, more than 54 thousand hectares of forests have been destroyed, Deputy Minister of Ecology of Azerbaijan Firdovsi Aliyev told a press conference on Friday. According to him, restoration of forest cover, in particular in the Gubadli region, has begun. Similar steps will be taken elsewhere.

Another deputy minister of ecology, Vugar Kerimov, noted that the Azerbaijani authorities are working on assessing the damage caused by the Armenians; the results of the assessments will be used when filing relevant claims. For this purpose, it is planned to attract international experts, he noted.

Referring to the scale of the damage, he called them "catastrophic." The talk is not only about forests, but also minerals, water resources, which have been mercilessly exploited for decades with the participation of foreign companies.

At the same time, the liberation of the territories from the occupation will improve the water supply to the low-lying regions of Azerbaijan, which suffered from water shortages in the summer. So, about 30% of the country's water are located in the liberated regions, Kerimov said.

He did not rule out that new reserves and national parks will be created in the liberated territories. These issues will be resolved with the involvement of international experts, Kerimov said. -02D-