River Cleanups

As a habitat and spawning ground for many precious fish species as well as a vital source of freshwater, the Kura basin has been under increasing pressure for many decades, with pollution and gillnets being among major threats to its biodiversity. IDEA continues its efforts to reduce the environmental damage of human activities on Azerbaijan’s internal waters. Since 2015, annual cleanup events have been held at the delta of Kura River and at the other river banks with the help of young IDEA volunteers. As a result of past cleanups, hundreds of gillnets were removed from the estuary of the Kura River to allow free passage of fish during their spawning period, and tons of waste, predominantly plastic, was collected from riverside areas, in partnership with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. Alarmed by the issue of extreme pollution at the Old Ganja archeological complex located by the Ganja River, IDEA had partnered with “Cavan” Youth Movement Public Union to mobilize hundreds of volunteers, who cleaned the riverside areas and conducted an information campaign on effects of pollution on rivers and local communities. Cleanup campaigns in this direction are being continued regularly.