On November 21, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was held, jointly organized by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources (ETSN), IDEA (International Dialogue for Environmental Protection ) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) (COP29) panel discussions on “Leopard protection under changing climate conditions” were organized.
Oku.Az informs that the vice president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the founder and director of IDEA PU Leyla Aliyeva In his speech at the opening of the event, he noted that climate changes and the observation of negative trends in the global ecological system endanger the population of many animals, including Caucasian leopards. Rising temperatures and numerous other natural disasters make it difficult for leopards to survive in the wild.
The project participants received detailed information about numerous activities carried out by IDEA, including the contribution of the project “Restoration of the leopard population in Azerbaijan”, implemented in cooperation with ETSN and WWF to increase the number of leopards in our country. Leyla Aliyeva noted that the Caucasus Biodiversity Summit held in 2014 ensured greater attention to the issues of ecological balance and animal protection in the South Caucasus region. The founder and director of IDEA PU stressed that thanks to the measures adopted in recent years, 23 leopard specimens have been found in the territory of Azerbaijan. At the end of her speech, Leyla Aliyeva called for further strengthening of global efforts to ensure effective protection of leopards.
Subsequently, Ajay Barai, WWF regional director for Europe and North Africa, Elshad Asgarov, director of the organization’s office in Azerbaijan, Aurel Heidelberg, director of the WWF German office, Rashad Allahverdiyev, deputy head of the Protection Service the Biological Diversity of ETSN, an expert in felines. Within the framework of the event, the representative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Tatjana Rosen and the representative of the “Ecocorridor Fund for the Caucasus”, Jernej Stritih.
