SIA reprints from The Huffington Post an article by Vice-President of Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva.
Nonetheless, within all these borders, we all share this one common challenge.
As Professor RL Johnston, a leading British geographer, put it: \"The
environment knows no borders, but states do.\" A striking juxtaposition
that captures the essence of the challenge facing the
The challenge is complex, based on the shared international borders outlined
above, tensions about some of these borders as well as a shared dependency on
natural resources.
Consider first the dominant environmental features of the region: the Caucasus
Mountains (Greater and Lesser), vital for the safety and sustainability of
water supplies for agriculture and industry as well as for drinking; and the
Caspian Sea, on which five countries depend for trade routes, important
commercial fisheries, and leisure.
Add to this the tensions I alluded to:
Then take one highly specific issue: the near-extinction of the Caucasian
Leopard. Once a common sight across the
The issues around the preservation of the Leopard are representative of the
geo-political issues facing our entire region. With a natural territory of up
to 80 square km, leopards may survive but cannot thrive in isolated safe areas.
The flexibility to follow changing patterns of prey, or to make contact with
other leopards and refresh a group\'s genetic pool, are essential. This requires
substantial safe corridors linking different core habitat zones. In a region
with extremely high levels of military presence at borders, the idea of safe
cross-regional wildlife corridors is an immense challenge to the region\'s
policy-makers.
On top of this, add habitat destruction in the face of human development, the
continued evidence of poaching, and the natural instinct of human rural
populations to see these creatures as dangerous enemies and there is little
wonder the Caucasian Leopard is in grave peril. In the face of such a mountain
of difficulties, the rational question must be \'why bother?\' Why not simply
accept that this species may be on a one-way journey to extinction, like the
Caspian tiger (once famed throughout the same region but extinct since the
1950s)?
There are two reasons why action on environmental issues matter. The first,
without getting bogged down in the science, is with healthy leopards, the other
members of the \'Caucasian Big 5\' will also thrive: gazelle, eagle, wolf and
bear. And such a programme is not merely a fantasy. So the positive impact of
concerted environmental action is felt far and wide, across national borders.
The second is that concerted cross-party action on environmental issues can be
a precursor to joint agreement on issues which divide nations and threaten our
economic prosperity and security. Earlier this month the five countries
bordering the
Ultimately it is only with such changed attitudes - not just in one country,
but across our region\'s cultural, political and military dividing lines - that
we can create the conditions for a sustainable future.
The international community - political as well as scientific - needs to
understand that without true international dialogue, the scope for
environmental action is dramatically limited. But with that dialogue comes
unlimited opportunity that goes far beyond the future of one species.
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