Baku, 26 February 2021 – The launch of a new project to improve the country’s resilience to climate change was announced today by the Minister of Ecology and Natural Recourses, Mukhtar Babayev, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative Alessandro Fracassetti.

The three-year project will help the Government of Azerbaijan to advance climate change adaptation actions in Azerbaijan in three priority sectors: water, agriculture and coastal areas.

Funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and implemented by UNDP, the project will focus on strengthening institutional, technical and financial capacities – in support of the Government’s efforts to ensure that medium-to long-term climate adaptation needs are integrated in Azerbaijan’s national development planning.

Welcoming the launch of the project, Minister Babayev highlighted the benefits of the project for the country:

“The water sector is one of the areas that are sensitive to the effects of climate change in our country. In this regard, this new project will help mitigate the negative effects of climate change by creating conditions for more sustainable management of water resources and the application of flexible solutions in agriculture”.

UNDP Resident Representative Alessandro Fracassetti emphasised the importance of the project for building resilience to climate change and supporting Azerbaijan in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals:

“This strategic project will further support Azerbaijan in helping the most vulnerable communities to cope with the impacts of climate change. It will help people build climate-resilient livelihoods and help the country to achieve the targets outlined in the Paris Agreement and its Sustainable Development Goals.“

The project will help build institutional, technical and financial capacities by introducing new tools and practices in data-collection and sharing, as well as awareness-raising and training courses for decision-makers, technical personnel and local communities. The project will further introduce improvements in the legal framework and in monitoring. These increased capacities will in turn help improve the overall capacity of the country and its population to cope with and manage the impacts of climate change.

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The ‘National Adaptation Plan Support for adaptation planning and implementation in Azerbaijan’ project builds on the successful long-term partnership between the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and UNDP.

Over the past years, the Ministry and UNDP have successfully implemented several joint projects on mitigating the impact of climate change through a better management of the country’s land plots and forests, biodiversity and preparation of the First, Second and Third National Communications to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Currently, the Ministry and UNDP are finalizing the set-up of a tree drip irrigation system around the Hojahasan lake, to help preserve drinking water for the local population. The Aarhus Center in Baku has been fully renovated and refurbished with modern equipment, to ensure greater access to information and public participation in environmental matters.

Media contact:

For media inquiries, please contact Dilara Umudova, Communications Officer for UNDP in Azerbaijan at dilara.umudova@undp.org.

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