Azerbaijan eyes creating new national park in liberated territories

The possibility of creating a new national park is being considered in Azerbaijan, which will cover parts of the administrative territories of the liberated Shusha, Khojaly, Aghdara, and Kalbajar districts, Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Vugar Karimov said at the event "Connection between Climate and Biodiversity: Integrated Solutions for a Sustainable Future" within COP29, Report informs.

"We have already begun surveying and assessing territories for the new national park, which will be an important step in preserving the ecosystems of the liberated territories," said the deputy minister.

He added that as part of the Action Plan for declaring 2024 as the Year of Solidarity for a Green World, the process of creating two new national parks is being completed: Bozdag-Ajinokhur with an area of 23,902 hectares and Ilisu, which is formed on the basis of the Ilisu State Nature Reserve covering 13,966 hectares.

Additionally, work is underway to create 10 micro-reserves for protecting rare flora species, granting them the status of natural monuments, as well as creating a geological park in the territory of several mud volcanoes, said Karimov.