civil society, international partners) concerning emergency of measures to protect
the
national environment, thus setting a common basis for further actions. In 2007
Azerbaijan signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the “Clean
Development Mechanism” projects. As following European countries in decrease of
atmospheric emissions by 2020 in 30%, Azerbaijan will reduce greenhouse gas
emissions contributing to climate change. Partner country Germany (in this
agreement) uses modern technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
contributing to energy efficiency. The purpose of signing the MoU is in order that
Azerbaijan may apply German experience.
State Programme on Poverty Reduction and Economic Development
approved by Presidential Decree (2004-2008, 2009-2013 and up to 2020) is envisaged
to play significant role; as a comprehensive strategy with multi-sector approach, it
influences now and will develop the environmental sector within the context of
entire national priorities.
The Programme provides long-term period and will be revised annually as the
envisaged policy measures are implemented and yield results, addressed the role of
environmental conditions as a cause of poverty as well as a tool to reduce it.
Assumption of “economic development which upsets the environmental balance
cannot be sustainable” obliges the Government of Azerbaijan to promote balanced
growth and improve some of key sectors of national economy: increase of:
-
investment sums to the climatic aspects,
-
access to credit among businesses and entrepreneurs,
-
development of infrastructure,
-
encouragement of small and medium enterprises,
-
development of industry and agriculture
in different regions,
-
improvement of environmental protection,
-
reforms of energy generation and distribution,
-
promotion of tourism, including rural tourism and ecotourism.
REFERENCES:
1.
Constitution of Azerbaijan - 12.11.1995, amended 24.08.2002
2.
Environmental Performance Reviews/Azerbaijan – UN Press, New
York/Geneva, 2004
3.
Law on Protection of Environment - 08.06.1999, N 678-1Q
4.
Law on Environmental Security - 08.06.1999, N 677-1Q
5.
Millennium Development Goals - UN Press, NYC – 2000
6.
State Programme of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Poverty Reduction and
Economic Development
- 20.02.2003, N854
7.
State Programme of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Social – Economic
Development – 11.02.2004
301
TRANSFORMATION OF ECOGEOCOMPLEXES FORMED IN THE COASTAL ZONE OF THE CASPIAN SEA
1
Guliyeva S.Yu.
Institute of Geography of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences
Key words: groundwater, proluvial, geocomplex, salt-marsh, transformation
Introduction
The features of groundwater, present in the foothill and plain areas of the coastal part of Azerbaijan
play a role of landscape-forming factor, conditioned by the complexity of altitudinal and spatial
differentiation
of the relief, the climate features, lithology of the constituent rocks, the drainage, and the
proximity to large enclosed water basin.
The geocomplexes of the Kura-Aras (21631 km
2
), Samur-Davachi (2900 km
2
) and Lankaran (1840
km
2
) plains are formed mainly due to alluvial and proluvial removals of mountain rivers, shown as
extended conic forms of transformed mass, which typically pass to flat marine and alluvial-marine deluvial
plains of middle- and upper Quaternary age in the Caspian costs. The relief of these plains in almost all
areas is represented by accumulative forms, with rare exceptions.
Desertification and degradation of semi-desert and dry steppe landscapes of the
Kura-Aras plain and
foothill areas, characterized by high heat capacity and arid climate, occurs both under the influence of
natural and anthropogenic factors. This happens when ground waters in underground layers are mixed
with washed rocks and salts found on their way, and mineralized. Under the influence of capillary force
along narrow vertical channels, water columns rise up to the surface of the Earth.
Eventually, hot air dries
up the soil, and water evaporates, leaving white accumulations of salt on the ground – the poison for
vegetation, which causes the widespread development of salt-marshes (“solonchaks”) and other
halophytic geosystems.
Beside with this, in the Kura-Aras lowland, the irrigated plant-growing has been widely developed
since ancient times. The population of this zone, which suffers from the harmful effects of growing
salinization, is forced to seek measures to combat this phenomenon. Relatedly, at present there
are large
areas occupied by salt-marshes in the Kura-Aras lowland, which is the reason for the strong
transformation and degradation of the natural-technogenic landscapes.
Materials and methods
This research was carried out based on the data available from the past scientific literature, as
well as through using results of related fieldworks led by the author in the study area. The main
emphasis is made on the transformation trends observed by the ecogeosystems of the Caspian region.
To define
this tendency, the comparison of the materials of the past with data of recent observation was
carried out.
Results
The modern ecosystems is formed considerably due to lithocomplexes of the Gusar foothill inclined
plain, composed mainly of the Upper Pliocene–Quaternary complex of alluvial-proluvial, as well
as alluvial
and alluvial-marine sediments of high infiltration capacity. Groundwater in this zone is spread up to a
depth of 150 m, and the thickness of the rocks reaches 113.8 m, whereas in the lower part, due to the
pressure of present water in the bottoms, it decreases to 60 m. A large number of available springs are
associated with this condition, the areals of outlets of which extend from north to south across the entire
Samur-Davachi lowland, entailing the formation of intrazonal hydromorphic ecosystems.
In the vast part
of the Shollar Plain, the groundwater is fresh, total mineralization of which varies from 0.2 to 1 g/l. The
presence here of a number of buried uplifts along with an abundance of fresh groundwaters causes the
development of plain forest-shrub landscape complexes (Mikailov, 1970). In the southeastern part of the
lower parts of the rivers of Garachay and Velvelechay, the total mineralization of groundwater increases,
and the pressure waters become slightly saline (up to 3 g/l), whereas ground waters are saline and in
some areas salty (38.6 g/l). Relatedly, landscape complexes become halophytes while semi-desert salt-
marsh and semi-salt-marsh geocomplexes predominate.
In the country, there are two largest water
intakes (Shollar and Khachmaz) located in the plain areas, receiving freshwater and the groundwater. They
meet the needs of the population of the cities of Baku and Sumgait.
302