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Today is World Day to Combat Desertification and Draught

17 June 2009 12:26 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“APA. UN General Assembly declared June 17 a World Day to Combat Desertification and Draught. Azerbaijan joined the UN Convention to Combat Desertification on April 24, 1998 to improve environmental situation in the country, useful and harmless use of natural resources, as well as to meet the national interests of the country, press service of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources told APA. In Azerbaijan, 3.7 million hectares of lands were damaged as a result of erosion and 1.2 million hectares â€“ as a result of salting. 300 square km became useless by floods and 30 000 hectares â€“ by exploitation of minerals. One of the factors making lands useless is chemical pollution. 264 000 hectares of forests are under the Armenian occupation and Armenians are intensively cutting the forest reserves in those areas, which accelerates desertification process in Azerbaijan.

Every year more than 10 hectares of forest is restored in the country, the ministry said. Azerbaijan has prepared three national reports since its joining the UN Convention, has organized workshops in the different regions of the country to explain the Conventionâ€™s goals, has published booklets and reports on the problem. By the orders of the President of Azerbaijan, square of specially protected natural areas was extended from 478 thousand hectares to 778464.7 hectares (4.5%) in 2003-2009, which is about 9 percent of the countryâ€™s territory. Within the project of â€œCreating potential for joint and sustainable use of landsâ€ technically provided by UNDP Office in Azerbaijan and Global Environmental Fund, state of winter and summer pastures in Kurdamir and Goygol regions were learned and 200 hectares of winter pastures were restored in Goygol. On April 22, 2009, at the meeting of Cabinet of Ministers presided by President Ilham Aliyev, it was set a task to plant three million trees in Absheron peninsula.