On 25 March, the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) will host this workshop connecting discussions of water security in Azerbaijan and the global/European discourses on development cooperation, water and migration, and water and security.
- Date
- Tuesday 25 Mar 2025, 14:00 - 17:00
- Type
- Workshop
- Spoken Language
- English
- Room
- 4.26
- Location
- International Institute of Social Studies
The workshop is organized in the framework of the Erasmus+ project on Sustainable Water Resources Management in the South Caucasus as a collaboration between EUR and Khazar University in Azerbaijan. It follows up on earlier events of the South Caucasus Water Academics Networks (SWAN) founded in Tbilisi in April 2023. The network is there to facilitation conversations and joint research of the scholars of water governance and management in the Kura-Aras river basin.
Speakers
- Rovshan Abbasov, Khazar University, Azerbaijan
- Rovshan Karimov, Khazar University, Azerbaijan
- Tamerlan Mehdiyev (TBC), Khazar Environmental Research Center
- Ilaha Abasli, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Oane Visser, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Nina Swen, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Farhad Mukhtarov, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Orkhan Mikayil, CEO Aqualink Azerbaijan (online)
- Anar Nuriyev, Assistant Professor, Baku State University, Azerbaijan
Programme
14:00-14:10 - Introduction by Farhad Mukhtarov
14:10-15:10 - Panel 1 - Water security in Azerbaijan
- Rovshan Karimov - Results of the research project funded by IOM Azerbaijan and titled 'A scoping study on the interlinkages between migration, urbanisation and climate change adaptation in Azerbaijan'.
- Anar Nuriyev and Farhad Mukhtarov - 'Water-Livelihoods-Migration Nexus in two regions of Azerbaijan (Salyan/Neftchala and Quba/Khachmaz) – results of a preliminary survey in 2024'.
- Ilaha Abasli, Nina Swen and Oane Visser et al. - 'Fisheries, Livelihoods and the Caspian Sea Decline'—based on the RIF Project at ISS
- Q/A and discussion
15:10-15:30 - Break
15:30-16:30 - Panel 2 - Climate change, adaptation and heritage in Azerbaijan
- Tamerlan Mehdiyev (TBC) - 'Hydrometeorological Threats in Azerbaijan: A Review of Risks, current Challenges, and Responses.'
- Orxan Mikayil - Market Study for the Netherlands companies/knowledge in Azerbaijan, commissioned by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the Netherlands Embassy in Azerbaijan
- Rovshan Abbasov - 'Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on the Level of Intangible Cultural Heritage Provided by Azerbaijan’s Water Bodies' with a special focus on Kahrizes in Azerbaijan
- Q/A and discussion
16:30-16:45 - Reflections by Oane Visser
16:45-18:30 - Reception
Background
Water security in the South Caucasus region is under great threat and Azerbaijan, as a lower-lying country in the downstream of the major rivers, will suffer most from the coming changes.The two major rivers in the region, Kura/Mtkvari and Araz/Aras/Araks, form a basin that covers five countries with the catchment area of ca 200,000 km2 (EUWIP, 2023).
Currently four major challenges for sustainable water management exist in the region.
- First, there is an increased pace of new reservoirs being built on the major rivers. Turkey’s Kura-Çoruh Water Diversion is set to decrease the Turkish contribution to Kura by at least a quarter (Sakal, 2022).
- Secondly, climate change makes precipitation much less regular, and the levels of the Caspian Sea have been dropping dramatically, partly to climate change and to a great extent due to increased water abstractions (Verdiyev, 2016). Models and scenarios of water availability in the region indicate at increasing scarcity in Azerbaijan (Abbasov, 2021) and broader in the region (Hajihosseini et al., 2023).
- Thirdly, the political situation around Nagorno-Karabakh and the broader region has been tense since the Second Karabakh War in 2020 and the Russia-Ukraine war since 2021.
- Finally, Azerbaijan increased its diversion of water to irrigation as part of a plan to develop an agriculture-based economy – this increases pressures on available water resources and their equal and fair distribution among citizens (Abbasov, 2021).
These threats have a potential to further de-stabilise the region and lead to long term negative political as well as socio-economic impacts. Water in Azerbaijan is intrinsically linked to such aspects as cultural heritage, agriculture, energy, fisheries, migration and national security. In this panel, we will explore those links.
The EU has a strategic interest in the region traditionally seen as a “backyard” of Russia and Iran and increasingly in the sphere of influence of China. US also has a history of interest and engagements in the region both geo-politically and from a developmental perspective. Academic and policy analysis of these complex dynamics is necessary both for increased security in the region and improved water diplomacy and management.
