Deputy Minister: Climate change threatens six sites on UNESCO list in Azerbaijan

Six sites on the UNESCO list are currently under threat due to climate change in Azerbaijan, the Deputy Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan, Saadat Yusifova, said at the panel session themed “Safeguarding our past and future: Cultural heritage in the face of climate change” held on the sidelines of the 6th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku Thursday, Report informs.

She noted that a decrease in the volume of water in the Kura and Araz rivers, as well as in the Caspian Sea, was observed: "The impact of climate change is clearly felt. Such changes also accelerate soil erosion. The increase in the area of drought has also had a negative impact on agriculture," she said.

The deputy minister emphasized that a new road map for the protection of cultural heritage has been defined: "Unfortunately, our monuments that were under Armenian occupation for 30 years were destroyed. 10,000 historical monuments were destroyed in Karabakh and East Zangazur. Access to more than 100 monuments is blocked because Armenians laid mines in those areas."