Dear ladies and gentlemen!

Dear colleagues!

We would like to inform you that the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, distinguished by rich biodiversity, was under the occupation of Armenia for about 30 years and liberated as a result of counter-offensive operations carried out by the Azerbaijani Military Forces from September 27 – November 09, 2020, and historical justice has been restored. The scale of the environmental catastrophe inflicted on the region by Armenian forces is unimaginable and terrifying. The occupants inflicted unprecedented damage to the flora and fauna of Karabakh, including forests, and destroyed the agricultural system. As a result of ecological terror, more than 10 reserves and sanctuaries, very valuable and rare plant and animal species, endemic to Azerbaijan and Karabakh were destroyed forever. Some of the plant and animal species are included in the "Red Book" of Azerbaijan and the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Forestry of Karabakh and surrounding areas existed before the occupation inmore than 280,000-hectare territories (13,200 hectares of valuable tree species), including most of the only sycamore forest in Europe, and hundreds of the most valuable trees, in the age of 120 - 2,600 years old, were savagely looted and transported to Armenia or sold to foreign countries in the form of semi-finished products. Natural vegetation, forests, and orchards have been repeatedly burned along with the existing fauna species, and endemic animals have been deprived of their habitat. Soils have been degraded and water basins have been deliberately polluted with toxic substances. Caves, where bats and other creatures live, have been turned into weapons depots. In the occupied territories, large animals were injured or killed by landmines. As a result of the constant artillery shelling of the regions far beyond the front line, even the wildlife of the protected areas, such as Aghgol and Goygol National Parks, was seriously damaged. Most of the plant varieties created by the people in the region over the centuries have been destroyed by the occupants. The Karabakh Scientific Research Base, which covered 1,694 hectares of land in the Aghdara region, was occupied by armenians, herds of purebred cattle (200 purebred cattle, buffalo hybrids, 500 purebred sheep), fruit varieties, grapes, gene pool gardens of subtropical plants (500 fruit varieties) samples of the world and local collections of cereals, more than 200 thousand valuable selection materials, etc. were looted.

Armenia must be held responsible for the heinous crimes committed not only against the nature and biodiversity of Azerbaijan but also against the living things of the whole world.We urge You to support justice for Azerbaijan to prevent iniquity anytime and anywhere on the Earth.

Sincerely yours,

Academician Irada Huseynova,

Vice-president of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

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