BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 8. The World Bank (WB) is ready to work with the Government of Azerbaijan to address the priorities in the development of a sustainable marine environment, Kseniya Lvovsky, Practice Manager for Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy in Europe and Central Asia Sustainable Development Department of the WB, told Trend.
According to the specialist, Azerbaijan has great potential for the improvement of what experts call a ‘blue’ economy, which is the exploitation, preservation, and regeneration of the marine environment.
“What we understand by this term is a sustainable, inclusive economy in the coastal and maritime space, and here Azerbaijan is fortunate to obtain all the sources. Having a very long coastal and maritime space, where strong economic activity is already observed, Azerbaijan could increase its capacities in the field,” she said.
As Lvovsky rightly pointed out, the potential of the blue economy may get limited if it is not developed in a more sustainable way.
“For example, the pollution of the sea, whether these are oil spills wastewater or plastic, which is another emerging issue of global significance, if these issues are not addressed, it will be difficult to develop tourism or attract private investors in other economic sectors, including potentially new economic sectors, fisheries, marine culture and so on,” the expert noted.
The WB’s recommendation for Azerbaijan in this regard is to create a level playing field for the private sector so that it can provide public investments in environmental infrastructure in rehabilitating the coast, plaguing abandoned wells, addressing pollution control, and adopting robust policies for innovative financial mechanisms to support private sector investment in green and sustainable industries along the coast.
“We are really pleased with the different types of collaboration between the WB and Azerbaijan. Renewable energy, in this regard, is very important for greener economic growth in Azerbaijan, and globally, and, indeed, the WB Group, together with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) supports the such initiative as the Offshore Wind Roadmap, which is a great example of blue economy development,” Lvovsky concluded.