BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Presently, around 30 percent of the 12–13 billion cubic meters of water extracted from aquatic sources is wasted in transit, with roughly 80 percent of the utilized water designated for irrigation purposes, Rafig Verdiyev, Head of the Cadastral and Accounting Department, Trend reports.
Speaking at a press conference of the State Control Service for Water Use and Protection within the State Water Resources Agency of Azerbaijan (ADSEA), Verdiyev explained that this loss is higher compared to the planned irrigation standards for the current climatic conditions.
"The main reason for this is the additional losses resulting from the insufficient application of modern irrigation practices in agriculture, as well as non-compliance with the required agricultural rules and principles. Wasteful water usage for irrigation also leads to soil degradation. It contributes to the rise of high mineral groundwater levels near the surface, which causes soil salinization, reduces productivity, or even removes land from agricultural use. Over-extraction of water from sources can also prevent ecological flow in rivers, leading to ecosystem degradation and sometimes even causing rivers to dry up," Verdiyev added.
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