Towards Green Growth of Baku: Enhancing People's Quality of Life through Sustainable Cleanup of Polluted Lakes

Project Summary:

The objective of this grant is to support the Government of Azerbaijan in its efforts to introduce green solutions for addressing legacy pollution, and for sustainable redevelopment of contaminated areas of selected Absheron lakes. The economy of Azerbaijan is dominated by oil production and industry. Currently the industrial sector contributes over 60% to its GDP, and crude oil accounts for over 90% of its goods exports. Pollution associated with the oil sector has had severe effects on many locations at the Absheron Peninsula – the center of the oil production area – leaving the region damaged and caused significant land contamination. Land degradation is a deterrent to future development, and pollution’s impact on public health is significant. The KGGTF funded program will focus on studying the area in and around Lake Khojasan, and will contribute to the identification of the cleanup and ecological revitalization measures of the water body and adjacent land in a sustainable and cost-effective manner.  It further aims to foster a strong partnership between public and private sectors by developing innovative financial mechanisms for land redevelopment that could be scaled up and sustained in the future. Another component of the program will be to strengthen the capacity of involved stakeholders through the introduction of new technical know-how, and education and training in the deployment of green growth practices. This component will be carried out through studying, learning and sharing Korea’s successes in green urban development, remediation of industrially contaminated sites and treatment of polluted water. 

List of Activities:

1. Workshop in Astana and a study tour of Azerbaijani officials to Korea - Strengthened capacity of Azerbaijani entities to plan and implement green growth projects and programs 
2. Study of technical lake’s cleanup and ecological revitalization options, including identification of potential environmental and social risks - Knowledge is obtained on the most technically, environmentally and socially optimal solutions for the redevelopment of the contaminated lake area 
3. Socio-economic Analysis of the area redevelopment - Knowledge is obtained on the economic benefits of the redevelopment of contaminated lake area 
4. Preparation of the Feasibility Study - A holistic approach to the redevelopment of the contaminated lake area is developed
5. Stakeholder consultations - Stakeholder contributions/feedback provided to the main deliverable

Outcomes:

Output 1:

• Workshop attended by the participants

Output 2:

• Technical Report on cleanup solutions 

Output 3:

• Report on Socio-Economic Analysis of the contaminated lake area 

Output 4:

• Feasibility Study

Output 5:

• Consultations

Outcomes:

• Improved efficiency: redevelopment of a polluted area requires a combination of measures, including innovative solutions for clean-up, adoption of land management plans, both local and area-wide, introduction of new financial mechanisms for the attraction of investments, setting modalities for public-private partnership, and will eventually lead to the change of behavior of the ‘users’ of rehabilitated areas. The proposed activity will develop the most optimal clean up technologies, promote dialogue between the government and private actors and facilitate coordination among the public agencies and other stakeholders. Opportunities related to the economic use of a rehabilitated area of the Lake Khojasan and its surroundings will attract private sector, in particular SMEs, stimulate creation of green jobs and promote environmentally sustainable economic growth of the entire area. The change in users’ behavior will be reflected in improved practices of the management of solid and liquid wastes so that to avoid secondary contamination of the rehabilitated area and to sustain its economic and environmental value, and eventually to the considerable reduction of the GHG emissions. 
• Greater resilience: Azerbaijan in general, and the Absheron Peninsula in particular, has always been characterized by scarce and unevenly distributed water resources. Recent studies identified increased water deficit as the main impact of climate change. The improved management of the available water resources will contribute to strengthening country’s resilience to the climate change impacts as will provide local communities and private businesses with the access to cleaned land and water, and can stimulate sustainable farming and re-use of treated water.     
• Increased Competitiveness: one of the main strategic documents defining Azerbaijan’s economic development directions for the period until 2030 is the Strategic Roadmap, which indicated tourism development as a priority direction. The rehabilitated area of the Lake Khojasan and its surroundings will have great potential for tourism development as the rehabilitated lake can significantly improve its recreational functions and attract tourists and visitors as well as reputable international investors. Being the first of this kind, the proposed activity can be replicable for the other similar sites in Absheron and thus, scale up the increased competitiveness impact.

Collaboration with K-Partners and Others:

• Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE)
• Korean Environment Corporation (KEC)
• The Office of National River Restoration
• Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)
• Asian Development Bank (ADB)
• Azerbaijan Ministry of Economy (MoE)
• Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources (MENR)
• State Water Company (OJSC) AzerSu