BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 11. We are here to discuss three major issues that affect millions of people around the world today - agricultural sustainability, water management, and food security, the President of the International Eurasia Press Fund Umud Mirzayev said, Trend reports.
He made the remark at the panel “Strengthening NGOs in the climate crisis: joint approaches to agricultural sustainability, water management, and food security” at the COP29 event.
He noted that statistics show that ten percent of the world's population suffers from hunger and 30 percent of agricultural land is degraded.
“As a result of climate change, these problems are becoming more urgent. Water is a basic resource that plays an important role in food production and agriculture, but its scarcity is rapidly increasing. It is then incumbent on each of us to find sustainable solutions.
Against the backdrop of these challenges, NGOs are taking on the important mission of adapting global strategies to local realities and implementing projects aimed at sustainable agriculture and natural resource conservation, working directly with communities.
In post-conflict areas in particular, NGOs are doing unprecedented work in both the environmental and humanitarian spheres. They are turning demined land back into fertile land, creating new opportunities for life and economic development for communities.
I would like to state that as a non-governmental organization, we are also constantly taking steps to create a safer and more prosperous world for communities and future generations.
I'd like to mention that since 2013, IFEP has been admitted as a member of the UN Environment Assembly. Then it was the first in the post-Soviet space to hold an international event on “Sustainable Development and Green Economy” and prepared the “Baku Declaration”, which defined the contours of the Sustainable Development Goals. During its activity, the Foundation has held several environmental events at the UN office and in other countries.
One example is the documentary “Water is a War Machine” produced by IFEP as part of the Eighth World Water Forum organized by the World Water Council in Brazil in 2018. This movie highlighted the damage caused to the water resources of the Terter district during the occupation of the Karabakh territories of Azerbaijan and the importance of water conservation in these territories.
Also, I would like to note that for almost 25 years, IFEP, through its participation in mine action programs in the territories of Azerbaijan, has been working to build a safer and more prosperous world for future generations. As we gather here today, we reaffirm our commitment to these initiatives. In the future, by expanding these initiatives, we will continue to create pathways of sustainability and empowerment for communities, which are an important segment of civil society at the forefront of the climate crisis,” Mirzayev noted.