Water management and protection of the caspian sea

The main characteristics of the water resources of Azerbaijan are their limitations (average annual water deficit in the country is 4.75  km3), uneven spatial and seasonal distribution, and the fact that some 70  per  cent of available surface water resources come from neighbouring countries and enter Azerbaijan in a heavily polluted state (namely the Kura and Araz rivers). About 80  per  cent of the water consumed by the population for drinking and irrigation comes from contaminated rivers, posing serious challenges to public health. The Kura River delta and the Absheron peninsula constitute two of the five pollution hotspots of the entire Caspian Sea.

Related Subject(s): Environment and Climate Change

Countries: Azerbaijan