Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, founder and head of IDEA Public Union Leyla Aliyeva has attended a panel meeting on "Women leading progress: Water and Sustainable Development Goals", organized under the patronage of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), as part of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change - COP28 held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The meeting, co-organized by the United Nations (UN), General Women's Union and Association of Swiss Women and Empowerment (ASWE), was also attended by Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UN Geneva) Tatiana Valovaya, as well as Minister of Climate Change and Environment of the UAE Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri.

During the meeting, it was emphasized that the participants will try to coordinate and strengthen efforts aimed at addressing the current problem of water management, investigating its effects on communities and ecosystems, in accordance with the resolution of the UN General Assembly, which envisages the right to safe and clean drinking water as one of the basic human rights.

Vice-President of Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva, who addressed the discussions, said: “Due the climate change, we can observe lower water levels in rivers such as Kura, Samur, Araz. The water levels in the Volga River is decreasing, which also affects the Caspian Sea. Over the past seven or eight years, we have witnessed a draught in Azerbaijan, and this, of course, affects the agricultural sector. The government plans to build ten water reservoirs in the country, which will help solve the problem. Another issue is that, unfortunately, we were deprived of our water resources for 30 years, since 20 percent of our territories were under the occupation.”

During the discussions, the participants stressed the special importance on increasing awareness in solving water-related issues and promoting inclusive and self-aware solutions to the sustainable water management, as well as reaching gender equality and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They also discussed climate issues, as well as finding the leading experience and solution mechanisms that can positively impact water management, which can make a positive change in increasing welfare, health and equality of communities at the global level in order to accelerate the process of reaching UN’s 17 SDG goals.

Following the panel discussions, the participants viewed the national pavilion of Azerbaijan operating at the COP28. Co-organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the national pavilion themed "Pioneering sustainable solutions for climate resilience" will last until December 12.

The concept of the pavilion is based on the rich flora and fauna of Azerbaijan. The pavilion, set up in an interactive format, provides information on the policy of Azerbaijan in the field of climate change, the measures taken by the government of Azerbaijan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, the activities on mitigation and adaptation, as well as other projects. It was noted that Azerbaijan confirmed the commitment to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent by 2030, and to increase this target to 40 percent by 2050. Taking active measures in this regard is a priority issue for the government of Azerbaijan.

Co-organized by the IDEA Public Union, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), an event on "Climate change and restoration of ecosystems" held in Azerbaijan’s pavilion.

Speaking at the event, Regional Conservation Manager of WWF Caucasus Programme Maka Bitsadze, project manager Jernej Stritih, WWF Director for Azerbaijan Elshad Askarov, and the representative of the IDEA organization Zarkhanim Aghayeva informed about the nature conservation and restoration projects implemented in the region, highlighting the special role of Azerbaijan in these projects.