Country presentation, Azerbaijan

4th Steering Committee MeetingDecember 12-13, 2016

Brussels, Belgium

Azerbaijan Country Presentation

Country priority areas: from 2013 till 2016 Young Foresters’ Movement: regional and national

initiatives; international cooperation

Strengthening staff capacity in the forest sectors: tutorials; increased number of qualified staff in the sector; enhancement of the system of professional forest education (with MoE)

Pilot initiatives on more efficient energy-consuming technologies

Long-term strategy and action plan for forest sector sustainable management

Sustainable recreation and ecotourism development

Regional and national plans on forest sector climate change adaptation; increase of forest coverage as a way to combat desertification

Ecosystem services cost evaluation

1. Key results for PDO 1

State Program on Sustainable ForestManagement and Forest Development;National Environmental Program andAction Plan 2016-2020 as part of theState Program Azerbaijan Vision 2020;National Action Plan on BiodiversityConservation – all are based on principlesof St Petersburg Declaration and address/ incorporate issues and recommendationsdeveloped and identified by FLEG 2analytical studies

Forest sector professional schoolsupdated their curricula based on theproposals developed by MoE specialistswho participated in the study tour toRussia, organized under FLEG 2

2. Key results for PDO 2 National Forest Policy and Action Plan

developed by FAO for 2016-202incorporates a number ofrecommendations and priorities of FLEG 2program

Tutorials and manuals on sustainableforest management have been developed,incorporating principles of bestinternational practices

A series of training programs for the forestsector specialists have been developedand applied on a sub-national level. Newprinciples are already introduced

Training sessions have been delivered tothe representatives of mass media andcivil society. This resulted in a number ofpublications in central mass media,covering the program purposes andoutcomes

2. Key results for PDO 2

Program regularly participates in anInternational Environment Exhibit, withan information stand and otherrepresentation materials which are ofa big interest and highly demanded byvisitors

Recommendations have beenproduced on integration of FSCstandards and HCV concept into theforest policy and legislation ofAzerbaijan

Assessment of potential for theimplementation of climate changeadaptation plans in the forestry sector

3. Key results for PDO 3 Development of instruments for efficient

restoration of Tugay forest landscapes inarid zones, with involving of localcommunities

Sustainable forest management plans forselected districts/forest units have beenprepared to pilot best practices. Theplans will help improve the forestgovernance practices and involvement oflocal community into the forestmanagement

Analytical study on the use of energyefficient technologies in rural construction(residential and social)

Staff of the a Forest Unit (Ismailli) hasbeen trained on the use of GPS methodsfor forest management

Success stories Setting up and support to the Young

Foresters’ Movement, both nationally andregionally

Introduction of a concept of sustainablerecreation and eco-tourism on forest fundterritories. Development of theSustainable Eco-tourism ManagementPlan

New pioneered concept on valuation andcertification of forests

Assessing the potential for theimplementation of the Climate ChangeAdaptation Plan in the forest sector

Exit strategy and sustainability of FLEG II

Sustainability:

Young Foresters’ Movementwill maintain its principalfunctions and network, bothnationally and regionally

National Program AdvisoryCommittee recognized as anefficient ground for thecollaboration of governmentand non-governmentagencies, and will continue itsoperation

Ideas for Future:

Restoration of forest landscapes

Introduction of ICT (Information communication technologies) fortraining, management, protection, monitoring, prevention offorest fires

Mainstreaming of forest governance issues into higher educationcurricula

Introduction of energy efficiency technologies in the ruralconstruction (residential and social)

Complete valuation of a forest area to produce a comprehensiveanalysis of use and non-use values of the forest

Functional zoning of forest territories, as part of SFM, learningfrom best international practices through internationalcooperation

THANK YOU FOR ATTENTION