A major step towards integrated water management: President Ilham Aliyev approved  Azerbaijan’s National Strategy on Efficient Use of Water Resources on 12 October 2024.  It sets out a comprehensive vision for the efficient management and protection of Azerbaijan’s water resources in line with EU and international standards. With its adoption, Azerbaijan sets an important signal on the occasion of the Climate Change conference (UNFCCC COP29) in Baku, where water is a key issue. 

A roadmap for sustainable water management 

The National Water Strategy outlines a clear path for Azerbaijan's water sector reform, setting short, medium, and long-term goals for the next 18 years. It aims to improve water security, to promote sustainable development, and address key challenges, such as water scarcity, water pollution and the growing demand for irrigation and drinking water. 

The strategy will strengthen Azerbaijan's legal framework and build on modern principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), including river basin management and the "polluter pays" principle. Key actions include expanding the national water monitoring system, creating a comprehensive database for surface and groundwater resources, and improving wastewater collection and treatment  across the country. 

EU’s support for the development of a Water Strategy  

The European Union has played a pivotal role in the development of this strategy through the EU Water Initiative + (2016-2020) and the EU4Environment - Water Resources and Environmental Data programme (2021-2024). By supporting policy dialogues and providing technical guidance, the EU helped to shape Azerbaijan’s strategy in line with EU water management standards, with the support of the programme’s implementing  partners: UNECE, OECD, the Environment Agency Austria and the International Office for Water in France. 

A step towards water security and resilience against water stress 

As Azerbaijan faces increasing water challenges due to climate change and high irrigation demand, the National Water Strategy represents a critical step towards a fair and balanced water use, and a secure and sustainable water future for its citizens and the region. 

In collaboration between the French-Azerbaijani University (UFAZ) in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the International Office for Water (OiEau), a lecture was held on 4 December as part of the EU4Environment Water and Data Programme. The audience consisted of 25 students of different levels, mainly Masters students (8 women, 17 men), and three teachers.

The lecture, entitled "Water Management, a Big-Picture Issue", provided a holistic view of water management beyond the confines of a purely technical curriculum. It aimed to broaden the students' understanding of water-related issues by exploring the integrated approach to water resources management, e.g. the equitable management of water for different needs: households (drinking water, hygiene), agriculture, industry, energy and ecosystems. A number of questions were raised about the organisations advocating for this comprehensive vision and transboundary water challenges.

The session was timely, as it coincided with UFAZ's initiative to launch a dedicated Master's programme focused on water resources in the coming academic year. This is a crucial step in fostering a new generation of professionals equipped with a nuanced understanding of the complexities of water management. The lecture, delivered by Philippe Seguin, an engineer and project manager at OiEau helped to shape a more holistic perspective among future water professionals.

• Download the presentation:  "Water management, a big-picture issue" - Philippe Seguin, Engineer and Project Manager at the International Office for Water (OiEau).

Credit picture: UFAZ

The survey aimed to assess the impact of human pressures on Coastal and Transitional waters in Azerbaijan. It was organised from 12 to 16 June 2023 and followed a previous one organised in October 2022. Both surveys were organised in the frame of the EU4Environment Water and Data programme.

Coastal and transitional are at the interface between land (freshwater) and the ocean (or the sea). Coastal and Transitional waters belong to the most productive ecosystems of the world, and they are also the sites of major cities and ports. For this reason, pollution and deterioration of marine habitats are very common.

For 5 days, samples of water were taken in several locations in areas where the Kura river meets the Caspian Sea: Shurabad, Turkan, Baku Bay, and the Kura Delta.

The survey aimed to examine the eutrophication in the Baku Bay caused by wastewater. The survey also aimed to set up specific thresholds (high/good/moderate) for parameters investigated. Such thresholds are essentials to develop reliable indicators in order to assess the ecological status of the coastal and transitional waters.

Different parameters were measured in water. Temperature, salt levels and turbidity were measured in situ at 24 stations. And 36 probes in total were taken to measure dissolved oxygen, nutrients (nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and orthophosphate) and phytoplankton in a laboratory.

Physical measurements (temperature, salt levels, etc) are very important for the evaluation of chemical results. For example, a high nutrient concentration established in freshwater where salinity is low can be absolutely normal while the same concentration of nutrients found in the Caspian seawater with a higher salinity can be a strong indicator of eutrophication.

With the support of a Croatian expert, Azerbaijani experts could investigate five coastal, one transitional, and one artificial water body. The water body is a coherent sub-unit in the river basin to which the environmental objectives of the EU Water Framework Directive must apply.

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), adopted in 2000, takes a pioneering approach to protecting water based on natural geographical formations (river basins). To achieve a good status of water, water monitoring methods should not only assess chemical and physical parameters, but also biological and other parameters. Assessing the ecological status of water is a first step towards taking better account of ecosystem needs. 

On 5-6 April 2023, Azerbaijan hosted the 10^th meeting of the National Policy Dialogue (NPD) on Water.

The Khojasan Lake lies near Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Due to the quantity of people living nearby, the lake was subjected to high levels of water pollution, which endangered its ecosystem. On World Water Day 2023, we celebrate change in the way we consider water for our future. Change starts by reconsidering the lakes and rivers as “living bodies”, with their own ecosystems and biodiversity, and by respecting how they function.

In Azerbaijan, the Khojasan Lake near Baku (Azerbaijan) was subjected to high levels of water pollution. The solution to restore the lake was to implement Integrated Lake Management.

Integrated Lake Management is a comprehensive way to help the lake recover. It does not include any direct human intervention on the lake or its waters; the lake is indeed able to clean itself through its capacity of self-purification. The lake can do so, provided that it does not receive more pollution than it can handle.

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan already helped to clean solid waste around the Khojasan Lake. A waste water treatment plant will be built to treat the polluted urban water before it is released into the lake, and natural self-purification will gradually clean the remaining wastewater discharged into the lake, without damaging its ecosystem.

The other human intervention around the Khojasan Lake consists in helping to protect the lake’s ecosystem; for example, trees that will limit erosion around the lake were planted with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

This is a quick project to initiate, which respects the environment and its self-preserving capacity, and will have many long-lasting positive impacts on local biodiversity and on the health and well-being of the people who live near the Khojasan Lake.

The European Union encourages similar initiatives all around Azerbaijan; through long-lasting cooperation, we can bring positive changes and sustainable solutions to the people and environment of Azerbaijan.