Mainstreaming Of Disaster Risk Analysis Into Gabala District Development Planning

Gabala district is located in a disaster prone part of Azerbaijan. Current natural and social conditions in Gabala make children very vulnerable. In addition preparedness level of schools is rather low that reduce capacity of local schools to meet hazards without human and material losses. Mainstreaming, in the context of disaster risks is the practice of supporting communities through land planning and development. This means that regular development process should take into consideration disaster risks, reducing risk level in a particular area.“Risk informed development programming” is the approach, according to which development interventions (ie building new schools and hospitals, building roads, bridges and communication lines, expanding cities and communities, building factories etc.) support risk reduction measures. For example, road constructions take into account all hazards possible hazards (ie landslides, floods, rockfalls, etc.) and relevant measures are incorporated during the construction period to minimize possible impact in the future

Assessment of Ecosystem Services of Water Reservoirs/HPP dams in the Kura-Araz Basin

This study focuses on freshwater ecosystem services that support hydropower plants (HPP)/dams development in the Kura-Aras River Basin in Azerbaijan. The study assesses the HPP/dams sector, and reviews additional sectors including nature-based tourism, irrigated agriculture, and drinkable water supply. In addition, the study briefly discusses the role and value of ES that help to mitigate natural hazards related to poor ecosystems management. The study used a basic Targeted Scenario Analysis (TSA) approach. The TSA assesses current “business as usual (BAU)” ecosystems management practices and its current value of ecosystems services under BAU. It uses sector output indicators and compares with potential “sustainable ecosystems management (SEM)” outputs to assess losses and potential gains (or losses) of shifting from BAU to SEM. The BAU approach is characterized by a focus on short-term gains (e.g., < 10 years), externalization of impacts and their costs, and little or no recognition of the economic value of ES, which are typically depleted or degraded. Under SEM, the focus is on long-term gains (> 10 years); also under SEM, the costs of impacts are internalized. Ecosystem services are maintained, thus generating potential for a long-term flow of ecosystem goods and services that can enter into decision making. SEM practices tend to support ecosystem sustainability as a practical and cost-effective way to realize long-run profits

Evaluation of Factors Contributing to Floods in the Outlet Part of the Kura River, Azerbaijan

Flow regulation has long been thought as the most effective method for the flood prevention. However, this experience has shown its limitations over the last few decades when the strong floods have been observed in regulated rivers. Since most of rivers have been highly affected by human activities, there are obvious changes in the genesis and nature of floods. Floods at the mouth part of the Kura River are observed as a combined result of climatic and non-climatic factors. Climatic factors directly impact flood characteristics-peak, duration and volume. Main climatic factors of floods in the Kura River include intense snowmelt episodes and intense rain as well as Caspian Sea level changes. Non-climatic factors include changes in land use, deforestation, erosion, flow regulation, water withdrawals and channel siltation. Over the past century, there is an increased contribution of non climatic factors to the flood formation processes in the Kura River. At the same time channel siltation has increased the role of non-climatic factors. In addition, the Caspian Sea level rise became additional contribution to the level rise in the mouth area that causes backwater propagation on the free surface. Due to the channel siltation and the backwater propagation at the mouth reach, floods may occur even during lower discharges characterized with longer durations

TEEB Scoping study for forestry sector of Azerbaijan

The aim of the FLEG II Program is to promote sustainable forest governance, management, and protection of forests in the participating countries, including Azerbaijan. The program supports forest governance through enhancing forest policy, legislation and institutional arrangements, and implementing sustainable forest management models on a pilot basis. This TEEB scoping study, as a part of the FLEG II program, makes a preliminary analysis of the ecosystem services provided by forested areas in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijanis consider forests to be one of the most valuable natural resources in their country. It is estimated that the total area of forests and scrublands in Azerbaijan is more than 860,000 ha, most of which are located in mountain areas. Riparian and plain forests in Azerbaijan only occupy areas, where the groundwater table is rather close to the surface that may permanently supply trees with water. Forests in Azerbaijan provide a broad range of ecosystem services. In most of the rural areas, fuelwood is a major source of energy. Also, forested watersheds are the only source of drinking water for all of the population in Azerbaijan that live in mountain regions. In addition, forested mountain areas are the preferred recreational areas for tourists in Azerbaijan. In order to analyze the ecosystem services of forests, “Business as Usual” (BAU) and “Sustainable Ecosystem Management” (SEM) analytical approaches have been used. Under BAU management, nonsustained use of natural resources is understood, that gives only short-term gains. In this type of management, some stakeholders may maximize their benefits for short-term periods, causing substantial damages to ecosystems and, in this way, negatively affecting financial and social conditions of other stakeholders. Under the SEM management, economic benefits are maximized through planned and integrated use of natural resources. While economic benefits of some stakeholders under the SEM may be minimized for short-term periods, over the long-term periods, economic gains for all types of stakeholders are increased and sustained. Evaluation of the current state of the forestry sector and its policy context enables us to understand existing challenges and perspectives (TEEB foundations, 2010). The traditional BAU practices in Azerbaijan include illegal logging, unsustainable tourism, overgrazing and other activities. In addition, the impacts of climate changes are considered as a BAU practice, since it has mostly been recognized as the human induced phenomena. SEM is taken as an alternative policy to the BAU. All-inclusive analyses of alternative policies (BAU vs. SEM), including their impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services is given. These analyses describe advantages of SEM practices over the long-term periods. This study also identifies key elements for a full TEEB study, including a roadmap of activities, and a list of important outputs to be delivered in such a study

Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on the Level of Intangible Cultural Heritage Provided by Azerbaijan’s Water Bodies

Water bodies in the mountainous and coastal regions of Azerbaijan, including rivers, lakes, springs, and waterfalls, host many cultural ecosystems. These have led to both tangible and intangible cultural heritage creation and contain a perfect level of human–nature relations. Climate change is a complex phenomenon that is affecting all areas of human life, including water-related ICH. Its effects cause existing traditions, knowledge, and skills to be gradually abandoned and forgotten, which in turn leads to the disappearance of ICH. Global climate change also affects employment among the population in other areas, such as agriculture and reduces traditional incomes. This leads to the gradual migration of the rural population to urban areas and, as a result, the loss of traditions related to intangible cultural values

A PES System for Azerbaijan (Preliminary Report)

An ecosystem (ES) is a group of plants, animals and micro-organisms in combination with the non-living physical components of their environment. All the biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems are interrelated and create unique nutrient cycles and energy flows. An ES may be considered a completely independent area with its own interdependent organisms (Flores and Abbasov, 2014). All the organisms in the ecosystems are interrelated and share same living space. ESs are the sources of many vital products and services used by human beings (Daily et al., 1997). They are the only sources of resources, which are very important to human wellbeing and survival (Costanza et al., 1997;, Flores and Adeishvili, 2011). ES provided resources include a broad basket of goods and services used in people’s daily life (Pearce and Atkinson, 1993). Goods and services provided by ecosystems will be simply called “ecosystem services” or ESS

Remediation of soil contaminated with persistent organic pollutants in Sumgait, Azerbaijan

The Sumgait remediation project was implemented in 2015 as a partnership between Blacksmith Institute and the site owner Azerikimya Joint Stock Company (Azerikimya) in Sumgait City, Azerbaijan Republic, about 30 km northwest of Baku. The project was financed by European Commission and supported by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources (MENR) and Sumgait Municipality. The site is a place on the Caspian Sea coast that was formerly an industrial area highly contaminated with various pollutants and particularly benzo(a)pyrene, benzene, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). As part of initial environmental assessment the project team took soil samples at 19 locations at the surface and at the depth of 0.5 m. The maximum topsoil benzo(a)pyrene concentration was 76.21 mg/kg, benzene – 121.5 mg/kg, and PCBs – 121.02 mg/kg. The remediation project involved the removal of 804 m3 of contaminated soil, and disposal of the contaminated soil at the MENR Hazardous Waste Polyqon (landfill). A comparison of pre- and post-excavation sampling shows that average contaminant levels in soils in the upper 0.5 m were reduced by an average of 97 percent. These actions were followed by bioremediation activities. More than 13,000 m3 of clean soil and organic fertilizer were placed and leveled over an area of two hectares. Approximately 1,200 locally grown native tree species were planted, and a drip-irrigation system was installed. The area is now a park close to the beach

Long-Range Dependence and Sea Level Forecasting

This study shows that the Caspian Sea level time series possess long range dependence even after removing linear trends, based on analyses of the Hurst statistic, the sample autocorrelation functions, and the periodogram of the series. Forecasting performance of ARMA, ARIMA, ARFIMA and Trend Line-ARFIMA (TL-ARFIMA) combination models are investigated. The forecast confidence bands and the forecast updating methodology, provided for ARIMA models in the literature, are modified for the ARFIMA models. Sample autocorrelation functions are utilized to estimate the differencing lengths of the ARFIM

A PES System for Azerbaijan (Preliminary Report)

An ecosystem (ES) is a group of plants, animals and micro-organisms in combination with the non-living physical components of their environment. All the biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems are interrelated and create unique nutrient cycles and energy flows. An ES may be considered a completely independent area with its own interdependent organisms (Flores and Abbasov, 2014). All the organisms in the ecosystems are interrelated and share same living space. ESs are the sources of many vital products and services used by human beings (Daily et al., 1997). They are the only sources of resources, which are very important to human wellbeing and survival (Costanza et al., 1997;, Flores and Adeishvili, 2011). ES provided resources include a broad basket of goods and services used in people’s daily life (Pearce and Atkinson, 1993). Goods and services provided by ecosystems will be simply called “ecosystem services” or ESS