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strategies) of the South Caucasus countries have an
all-inclusive and adequate appreciation of climate
change. Furthermore, climate change tends to focus
on mitigation rather than adaptation measures.
Notwithstanding this, there is a clear recognition
by the national governments in the region of the
vulnerability of the population, economy and
infrastructure to natural disasters or other extreme
events caused by climate change.
Armenia
Armenia approved its Sustainable Development
Strategy in 2008 (Government of the Republic of
Armenia 2008b). The document underlines the
vulnerability of water resources to climate change
and recommends the creation of a programme to
protect national water resources, regulate river flows
and ensure availability and rational use of water to
prevent possible conflict among water users and
that the amount of water and water take regimes are
adequate for recovery. About 80 per cent of Armenia
is exposed to different degrees of land degradation
and desertification. To address this, the Sustainable
Development Strategy acknowledges anthropogenic
and climate-induced impacts on land resources and
calls for measures to prevent soil degradation and
desertification processes. In addition, the strategy
considers spatial development and planning as
a tool for balanced national development, while
managed urban development is seen as a mechanism
for reducing the impact of geological hazards. The
strategy also accords special status to mountain
populations and stresses the need to provide support
to economic activities in these regions. Nevertheless,
the strategy is lacking full-scale linkages between
climate change and overall sustainable development.
The country’s comprehensive and detailed Poverty
Reduction Strategy (2003) has 2015 as its endpoint.
Most of the targets within the strategy are for 2015,
and the country has yet to evaluate howwell it tackled
the identified priorities, including issues related
to populations in mountain regions and natural
disaster risk reduction mechanisms – for example,
one of strategy’s goals was the “Development of
a targeted system of privileges, discounts and
allowances in the earthquake zone, near-border,
mountainous and high mountainous regions and
small communities” (p. 131). Implementation of
this goal foresaw the replacement of a government-
funded compensation scheme for damages
caused by natural disasters by an insurance-based
mechanism co-financed by the state, farmers and
private insurance companies (Government of the
Republic of Armenia 2003). Such an approach to
risk reduction was considered innovative in 2003
when the strategy was developed.
The environmental protection section of the strategy
covers issues like forest and land degradation and
water shortages, however there is no reference to
climate change which exacerbates these issues.
Azerbaijan
The year 2012 saw the adoption of the Azerbaijan
2020 Development Concept: A Look into the
Future (President of Azerbaijan 2012). It covered
the main strategic goals of development policy in
all areas of life in the country, and is to be achieved
through state programmes. The concept states:
“As a manifestation of the environmental balance
on the planetary scale, climate change and global
warming are related to processes that can cause
natural disasters (rivers bursting their banks,
flooding of entire villages and cities, precipitation
much higher than the norm, avalanches, etc.). All
these are factors that directly affect the economic and
social life of the country and need to be taken into
account in the process of preparing necessary policy
measures. The experience of recent years shows that
in order to effectively fight natural disasters and their
consequences, the state should prioritise relevant
activities in emergencies and the establishment of
rapid reaction mechanisms for the social security
of the population in such situations” (President of
Azerbaijan 2012). Desertification processes and land
degradation, however, are highlighted in the context
of anthropogenic stress and contamination, while
forest restoration is seen within the context of air
pollution. It underlines that the country has limited
water resources with the least amount of water per
area per capita in the South Caucasus region. This
issue is, however, not considered to be at threat from
climate change, but rather at threat from intensive
contamination of freshwater sources that emanate
from neighbouring countries.
Another of Azerbaijan’s development programmes
is the State Programme on Poverty Reduction
and Sustainable Development, which emphasises
the need to “reduce the negative impact of climate
change on ecosystems and the economy”. In
addition, the document states the following: “Under
overall management of mountainous and coastal
ecosystems, creation of manufacturing facilities that
do not require intensive use of natural resources will
be supported in the mountainous and coastal areas
to improve the living standards and employment
opportunities of the local people” (President of
Azerbaijan 2008a). It also states that technical and
financial assistance will be provided in order to
improve the condition of mountain and coastal
area ecosystems that have suffered substantial
damage. Therefore, the statement links the social and
economic growth of mountain populations with the
protection of mountain ecosystems.
Another important aspect, which is tackled by
the programme, is protection of the agricultural
sector from natural disasters through promotion