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ECE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE 2 nd ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE nd ENVIRONMENTAL 2 PERFORMANCE REVIEW REVIEW AZERBAIJAN AZERBAIJAN Printed at United Nations, Geneva USD 35 UNITED NATIONS GE.11-20409 - March 2011 - 1,465 ISBN 978-92-1-117035-1 ECE/CEP/158 United Nations publication Sales No. E.10.II.E.17 ISSN 1020-4563 ECE/CEP/158 UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS AZERBAIJAN Second Review UNITED NATIONS New York and Geneva, 2011 Environmental Performance Reviews Series No. 31 NOTE Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. In particular, the boundaries shown on the maps do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. The United Nations issued the first Environmental Performance Review of Azerbaijan (Environmental Performance Reviews Series No. 19) in 2004. This volume is issued in English and Russian only. ECE/CEP/158 UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No 10.II.E.17 ISBN: 978-92-1-117035-1 ISSN 1020-4563 Copyright © United Nations, 2011 All rights reserved iii Foreword Environmental Performance Reviews (EPRs) for countries with economies in transition were initiated by Environment Ministers at the second Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference, held in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 1993. Subsequently, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Committee on Environmental Policy decided to make the EPRs part of its regular programme. The firstcycle of reviews that began in 1994 covered 23 countries from the UNECE region and was carried out until 2004. At the fifth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (Kiev, 2003), the Ministers affirmed their support for the EPR Programme, in particular as an important instrument for countries with economies in transition, and decided that the Programme should continue with a second cycle of reviews. This support was reconfirmedat the sixth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (Belgrade, 2007). This second cycle, while assessing the progress made since the first review process, puts particular emphasis on implementation, integration, financing and the socio-economic interface with the environment. Through the peer review process, EPRs also promote dialogue among UNECE member States and the harmonization of environmental conditions and policies throughout the region. As a voluntary exercise, EPRs are undertaken only at the request of the countries concerned. The studies are carried out by international teams of experts from the UNECE region, working closely with national experts from the reviewed country. The teams also benefitfrom close cooperation with other organizations in the United Nations system, for instance the United Nations Development Programme, as well as with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and other organizations. This is the second EPR of Azerbaijan to be published by UNECE. The review takes stock of the progress made by Azerbaijan in the management of its environment since the country was firstreviewed in 2003. It assesses the implementation of the recommendations contained in the firstreview (Annex I-B). This second EPR also covers nine issues of importance to Azerbaijan related to policymaking, planning and implementation, the financing of environmental policies and projects, and the integration of environmental concerns into economic sectors, in particular the sustainable management and protection of water resources and the protection of the Caspian Sea, waste management, air management, and forestry, biodiversity and protected areas. I hope that this second EPR will be useful in supporting policymakers and representatives of civil society in their efforts to improve environmental management and to further promote sustainable development in Azerbaijan, and that the lessons learned from the peer review process will also benefitother countries of the UNECE region. Ján Kubiš Executive Secretary Economic Commission for Europe v Preface The second Environmental Performance Review (EPR) of Azerbaijan began in November 2009 with a preparatory mission. During this mission, the final structure of the report was discussed and established. A review mission took place from 11 to 22 April 2010. The team of international experts taking part included experts from the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, and Switzerland as well as from the secretariats of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The draft EPR report was submitted to Azerbaijan for comment and to the Expert Group on Environmental Performance for consideration in September 2010. During its meeting on 28 October 2010, the Expert Group discussed the report in detail with expert representatives of the Government of Azerbaijan, focusing in particular on the conclusions and recommendations made by the international experts. The Expert Group decided to address those recommendations of the first EPR of Azerbaijan that were still valid in two different ways. If a chapter from the first EPR was also covered in the second EPR, then valid recommendations and their conclusions from the former would be reflected at the end of the respective chapter in the latter. If a first EPR chapter however was not covered in the second EPR, valid recommendations would be mentioned in Annex I-A “Valid Recommendations from the first Environmental Performance Review not covered in preceding chapters”. The remaining first EPR recommendations that had been implemented partially or fully would be covered in Annex I-B “Implementation of the recommendations of the first Environmental Performance Review”. The EPR recommendations, with suggested amendments from the Expert Group, were then submitted for peer review to the Committee on Environmental Policy on 2 November 2010. A high-level delegation from Azerbaijan participated in the peer review. The Committee adopted the recommendations as set out in this report. The Committee on Environmental Policy and the UNECE review team would like to thank the Government of Azerbaijan and its experts who worked with the international experts and contributed their knowledge and assistance. UNECE wishes the Government of Azerbaijan further success in carrying out the tasks involved in meeting its environmental objectives, including the implementation of the recommendations contained in this second review. UNECE would also like to express its deep appreciation to the Governments of the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland for their financial contributions; to the Governments of Portugal and Switzerland for having delegated their experts for the review; to UNEP and the United Nations Development Programme for their support of the EPR Programme and this review. Team of experts for the second EPR of Azerbaijan, 2010 vii LIST OF TEAM MEMBERS Mr. Antoine Nunes ECE Team Leader Mr. Yaroslav Bulych ECE Project Coordinator Mr. Jyrki Hirvonen ECE Introduction Mr. George Georgiadis ECE Chapter 1 Mr. Vadim Ni Kazakhstan Chapter 2 Mr. Mikhail Kokine ECE Chapter 3 Mr. Alexander Kopp Switzerland Chapter 4 Mr. Jose Palacin ECE Chapter 5 Mr. Vladislav Bizek Czech Republic Chapter 6 Mr. José de Bettencourt Portugal Chapter 7 Mr. Juraj Farkaš Slovakia Chapter 8 Ms. Ivonne Higuero UNEP Chapter 9 The mission for the project took place from 12 to 21 April 2010. The peer review was held in Geneva on 28 October 2010. The ECE Committee on Environmental Policy adopted the recommendations set out in this document. Mrs. Nona Iliukhina contributed and was involved in drafting some parts of the report. Information cut-off date: 28 October 2010 UNECE Information Unit Tel.: +41 (0)22 917 44 44 Palais des Nations Fax: +41 (0)22 917 05 05 CH-1211 Geneva 10 E-mail: [email protected] Switzerland Website: http://www.unece.org viii LIST OF NATIONAL TEAM MEMBERS Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources Mr. Goussein Bagirov, Minister International cooperation division, national EPR coordinator Mr. Emin Garabaghli, Head Introduction Mr. Imran Abdulov Chapter 1 Mr. Rasim Sattarzada Chapter 2 Mr. Teymur Shakaraliyev Chapter 3 Ms. Irada Ibrahiomova Chapter 4 Mr. Rashad Allahversiyev Chapter 5 Ms. Haciyeva Gulshan Chapter 6 Mr. Fizuli Mammadov Chapter 7 Mr. Mirsalam Qambarov Chapter 8 Mr. Adil Zeynalov Chapter 9 Mr. Alizada Hikmat LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS National contributors Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources Mr. Mutallim Abdulhasanov Ms. Nigar Abdurakhmanova Mr. Azer Aslanov Ms. Matanat Avazova Mr.Natig Babayev Mr.Shovket Bakirov Mr.Agasadig Gasimov Mr. Rauf Hajiyev Ms. Tarana Hajiyeva Mr. Tahir Hashimzadeh Mr. Rustam Husseinov Mr. Niyazi Ismailov Mr. Mikayil Jabbarov Mr. Ogtay Jafarov Mr. Pasha Karimov Mr. Yashar Karimov Mr. Elnur Khalilov ix Ms. Solmaz Mamedova Ms. Gulkhar Mammadova Ms. Sedaqet Mammadova Mr. Mammadhuseyn Muslumov Mr. Sabit Mustafaev Mr. Arzu Mustafayev Mr. Karimov Niyaz Mr. Agasadiq Qasimov Mr. Ramiz Rafiyev Ms. Sima Rustamova Mr. Sadig Salmanov Mr. Gulmali Suleymanov Ms. Umayra Tagiyeva Mr. Aghasadiq Yasimov Ministry of Education Ms. Sevda Abassova
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