NGO: Occupation caused major damage to Azerbaijan's ecology, biodiversity

Significant damage was caused to the ecology and biodiversity of Azerbaijan's sovereign territories during the occupation, Tavakkul Isgandarov, chairman of the Biodiversity Center Public Union, said at a briefing organized by the Environmental Protection First NGO Coalition on the environmental impact of mining activities in Armenia.

According to Report, Isgandarov said thousands of hectares of forest area were lost during the occupation.

"More than 50,000 hectares of forest were destroyed. Rare Oriental plane trees, including trees in the territory of the Basitchay State Nature Reserve, were destroyed, and protected natural areas were damaged. In addition, around 54,544 hectares of agricultural land were taken out of productive use between 1995 and 2015," he said.

Isgandarov also said irrigation infrastructure was destroyed during the occupation.

"During the occupation, inadequate management of the Sarsang reservoir and changes to the water-use regime restricted access to water for residents and agriculture in surrounding districts," he said.