Training on “Integrated Water Management as a Tool for Adaptation to Climate Change” held in Gabala

Baku. 5 August. REPORT.AZ/ On August 5-6, a training session was held in Gabala, Azerbaijan, on the theme of "Integrated water management as a tool for adaptation to climate change." The training was organized within the framework of the "Integrating climate change risks into water and flood management by vulnerable mountainous communities in the Greater Caucasus Region", a joint project of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Welcoming the participants, UNDP Strategic Partnership Analyst Mr. Mezahir Efendiyev said that organizing the integrated water and flood management in accordance with the climate changes of our time is important for achieving positive results in this sphere and emphasized that the provided training would make a vast contribution countrywide.

Welcoming the partcipipants, Head of Water Resources Agency under Ministry of Emergency Situations Mr. Baba Azakov emphasized the importance of the event. He told that climate change and its results are very important for Azerbaijan. To hold such events often the in regions helps to enlighten community members in this direction.

During the training, the participants were informed about climate change, followed by lively discussions on mitigation thereof. The participants were also comprehensively informed on Integrated Water Resources Management model and its use. Organization of roundtable discussions was considered necessary to discuss and identify possibilities of applying these tools at the local level. The results to be achieved as a result of the discussions have contributed to the preparation of relevant project components within the project.

The training session was attended by representatives of Ministry of Emergency Situations, State Water Resources Agency, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Amelioration and Water Management Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, Azersu OJSC, UNDP, local executive power and local communities and international and local experts of the project.

Note that the primary goal of the above-mentioned joint project of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and UNDP is to improve water and flood management systems in Azerbaijan, particularly the mountainous communities of the Greater Caucasus, and to mitigate the impacts of climate-related floods and inundations. The project will assist in adjusting the water and flood management systems to meet the adaptation needs and will improve climate risk management, will build the capacity of necessary structures to apply the best practices in management to reduce water and flood risks and will increase the communities' resilience to flood and water risks by introducing local climate risk management practices.