International conference on biodiversity held in Azerbaijan's Gabala town

The event was co-organized by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Ecology and Natural Recourses and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The conference brought together ministers and deputy ministers of ecology and environment from about 30 countries from Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The event was held as preparation for the next session of the UN General Assembly on biodiversity.

Attending the conference, Azerbaijan's minister of ecology and natural recourses Huseyngulu Bagırov briefed the participants on what the Azerbaijani government had done to protect and develop biodiversity. The minister said his country ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity in March 2000. He added a “National Strategy and Action Plan on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Azerbaijan” was approved in 2006.

Director of UNEP Christophe Bouvier said the United Nations declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. He also stressed the importance of the fact that 2010 was declared a Year of Ecology in Azerbaijan. Special Advisor to the United Nations Environment Program's Green Economy Initiative Pavan Sukhdev delivered a speech in the conference, as well.

The event participants discussed how to protect biodiversity in Eastern European and Central Asian regions. The conference also featured relevant roundtable meetings. The conference culminated in the adoption of a Gabala Declaration.


/AzerTAc/