Eco-activist: Azerbaijan demands conditions for monitoring of deposits in Karabakh

Mineral deposits in the Karabakh economic region of Azerbaijan are exploited illegally, Abdin Abbasov, an environmental expert at Ecosphere Socio-Ecological Center, told Report on the Khankandi-Lachin road.

"This illegal activity must be stopped immediately. At the same time, there is a serious need to carry out environmental monitoring to assess the impact on the environment," he said.

The eco-activist, who joined the peaceful protest, emphasized that monitoring is an essential practice during the use of natural resources, the installation of industrial enterprises, excavation works in deposits and the implementation of large projects.

"The impact of these activities on the environment must be studied and evaluated. They should create conditions for us to carry out monitoring there, to assess the impact of the illegal exploitation on the environment and to present the results to the public. This is our purpose in coming here. Everyone should know what happens in the deposits and to what extent it affects nature," he said.

Demonstrations are being held by Azerbaijani activists and members of environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on a part of the road under the control of Russian peacekeepers in Shusha, demanding an end to ecological terrorism in the Karabakh economic region.

As a result of discussions held with the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent on December 3 and 7, 2022, a team of experts from the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Service for Real Estate Affairs under the Ministry of Economy and AzerGold Closed Joint Stock Company was supposed to conduct preliminary monitoring regarding the illegal exploitation of mineral deposits and the resulting ecological and other consequences in the territories of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed. However, due to the inactivity of the peacekeepers, the monitoring did not happen.