November 6 is UN International Day for the Prevention of Environmental Exploitation in War and Armed Conflict.
The Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia referred to the days of the war provoked by the Republic of Azerbaijan on September 27, 2020 and Environmental damage caused by shelling and use of phosphorus bombs containing chemical element in forest and specially protected areas of Artsakh and Armenia.
Thus, during the more than 40 days of the war, as a result of the anti-environmental strategy adopted by Azerbaijan, according to preliminary data, more than 1800 hectares of forest area were destroyed in the territory of the Artsakh Republic. Such an actions continue to this day.
By its actions, the Azerbaijani side, which uses forest fires as a means of solving tactical problems, not only violates a number of international conventions, but also directly destroys one of the most important links in the region's ecosystem and the Red Book area.
As a result of barbaric actions of the Azerbaijani side, large forest areas of the Republic of Armenia, including specially protected areas, were also affected.
According to the current data, more than 2000 hectares of forest and vegetation areas have been damaged in Armenia and Artsakh.
Given that our region is one of the top 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world, it is currently facing a serious threat to ecosystems and biodiversity.
In the context of the UN-proclaimed International Day for the Prevention of Environmental Exploitation in Wars and Armed Conflict, the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia once again calls on major international environmental organizations and secretariats of international conventions to take immediate steps to make Azerbaijan to stop the ecocide in Armenia and Artsakh and to call Azerbaijan to the strictest responsibility for all this.
