Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

Most of fresh water resources in Azerbaijan are formed in neighboring countries, mainly in the transboundary rivers of Kura and Araz. Therefore, pollution and contamination of their water with chemical, radioactive and other harmful substances within the territories of these countries create problems in supplying Azerbaijan’s population with drinking water as well as many other problems.

The pollution of the Araz River by Armenia harms the ecosystem of Azerbaijan and Iran, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Iran Bunyad Huseynov said on March 5.

He made the remarks at the meeting with the Vice-President and Head of Iran’s Department of Environment Isa Kalantari. Huseynov noted that industrial enterprises of Armenia pollute the transboundary river.

Numerous monitoring conducted by the country’s relevant bodies in order to examine the pollution level of Kura and Araz rivers and their tributaries revealed that the amount of biogenic substances in them is several times above the norm. The reason for this is the discharge of untreated domestic wastes and sewage from industrial facilities into water in the territory of Armenia and Georgia.

At the meeting, Huseynov and Kalantari also discussed prospects for further expansion of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran in protection of environment, ecology, flora and fauna, as well as other prospects.

Touching upon the agreement between the governments of Azerbaijan and Iran on construction and operation of the Ordubad and Marazad hydroelectric power plants, signed in April 2014, the ambassador mentioned the fruitful cooperation between the two countries in the use of the Araz River. The agreement was ratified by the parliaments of Iran and Azerbaijan last year.

The sides also discussed the protection of bioresources of the Caspian Sea and their joint use. They noted the importance of keeping sea water clean.

Kalantari stressed the need to preserve and properly use the ecological environment of the Araz River and the Caspian Sea, which play an important role in the economies of both countries. He added that the Iranian government pays special attention to the protection of water basins.

The vice-president stressed the importance of Iran-Azerbaijan cooperation in environmental protection and restoration, and spoke about the activities Iran has implemented in the field of ecology.

During the meeting, the sides also had a broad exchange of views on ways to overcome environmental problems and on other issues of mutual interest.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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