BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 26. The Guardian has published an article about environmental damage on the Azerbaijani liberated lands caused by Armenia during the 30 years of occupation, Trend reports.
Commenting on Azerbaijan filing a lawsuit against Armenia, the author of the article says that "this is the first time any country has sought inter-state arbitration under the Bern convention [on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats]", and " if Azerbaijan wins, it will set a precedent for putting an economic value on biodiversity and environmental destruction".
"Azerbaijan occupies a key strategic point between Europe and Asia in geopolitical terms but is also a biological crossroads for plant and animal species. According to Azerbaijan’s ecology and natural resources ministry, mining during the occupation damaged much of the forests, which are a biodiversity hotspot, home to rare, endangered and endemic species including the Caucasian leopard, brown bear, grey wolf, as well a the greater spotted and steppe eagles. The ministry said more than 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) of protected forests were damaged. Some of these reserves were established to protect rare and fragile ecosystems, such as an oriental plane forest in the Basitchay River valley. Ancient trees in the war zone, some 2,000 years old, were reportedly cut down. As well as having an important role in regulating microclimates and conserving biodiversity, these trees are culturally important," the article said.
Quoting Zaneta Sedilekova, a lawyer at the London-based firm Clyde & Co, the article says that with Azerbaijan winning this case, "this will be the first time that an arbitral tribunal allocates damages for environmental destruction and, very likely, assesses the economic value of biodiversity loss and decline in ecosystem services on a particular area, and to a particular nation".
"Such a precedent could have a profound impact on how state and non-state actors perceive the cost of biodiversity loss and, possibly, accelerate protection, conservation and restoration of biodiversity," Sedilekova said.
Meanwhile, the protest on the Lachin-Khankendi road against the illicit exploitation of Azerbaijan's mineral resources in the area of Russian peacekeepers' temporary deployment has been going on for over forty days.
Previously, following the talks with the Russian peacekeepers' command on December 3 and 7, 2022, a group of experts from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Property Service under the Ministry of Economy, and AzerGold CJSC were going to begin preliminary monitoring of the illicit mineral resource exploitation, as well as emerging environmental implications on Azerbaijani lands, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, on December 10, 2022.
The expert team was expected to inspect the environmental condition at the 'Gizilbulagh' gold deposit and the 'Damirli' copper-molybdenum deposit, monitor various areas, organize cadastral property records, assess potential risks and threats to the environment, as well as to underground and surface water sources.
However, when arriving in the monitoring area, the expert group, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, faced provocations. The planned initial inspection and monitoring did not take place due to the fact that the Russian peacekeepers not only did not create necessary conditions but also prevented for the entire process to carry on.