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.
