President Ilham Aliyev signed a Decree on the creation of the Qarabağ National Park.
elchi reports that according to the Decree, 44773.79 hectares of lands in Aghdara district owned by the state, 24597.80 hectares of lands in Khojaly district owned by the state, 13514.98 hectares of lands in Kalbajar district owned by the state, 5314.34 hectares of lands in Shusha district owned by the state, and 217.09 hectares of lands in Lachin district owned by the state have been allocated and designated as specially protected areas, and the Qarabağ National Park of the Republic of Azerbaijan is being created on a 88418.00 hectare area shown in the land management plan attached to this Decree.
The Cabinet of Ministers has been instructed to resolve issues arising from this Decree.
The Decree stated that the Qarabağ and East Zangezur economic regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan historically possess rich and unique natural heritage:
“During the period of occupation by the Republic of Armenia, biodiversity in these territories was severely damaged, and rare plant and animal species included in the “Red Book” of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the “Red List” of the International Union for Conservation of Nature were destroyed. All of this has led to the disruption of ecological balance in the region as a whole.
Over the period since the Patriotic War, measures have been taken to restore the ecological balance of the liberated territories, including their natural ecosystems and rich biodiversity, to rebuild specially protected natural areas, and to transform the region into a clean environment and a “green growth” zone.
The activities of the Basitchay State Nature Reserve of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the administrative territory of Zangilan district, which is part of the East Zangezur economic region, and the Dashalti State Nature Sanctuary of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the administrative territories of Shusha and Khojaly districts, which are part of the Qarabağ economic region, have been restored within the framework of the Great Return.