After the victories, Azerbaijan experiences a period of prosperity in its history. One of the conditions for ensuring sustainable development of our country in all fields in the new period is the organization of science based on modern challenges. Honorable President Ilham Aliyev, who can clearly see today's events and rapidly changing conditions in the country, region and world, and who has gone down in history with his vision of the future and correct and timely decisions, has signed an important decree that will ensure the development of Azerbaijani science.
The Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on additional measures to optimize the activities and increase the efficiency of scientific institutions subordinate to the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, signed on April 4, 2025, is a timely and scientifically based step, the beginning of a new stage of development of Azerbaijani science.
Recently, there has been a certain stagnation in the scientific environment of Azerbaijan. There were a number of different spectrum reasons for this. One of the main reasons for that was the operation of the scientific institutes based on the laws left over from the traditional systems. All of this rightly caused confusion and discouragement in the scientific community. The unification of the institutes of natural and exact sciences into the Ministry of Science and Education was the first step that brought our science to a new level. The President's latest decree clearly shows new horizons for the development of our science. It inspires real, hardworking scientists. I think that the known decree has logical grounds for merging a number of institutions:
The inclusion of the Institute of Botany among the new major institutes to be established is evidence of President Ilham Aliyev’s care, love and great respect for nature, flora and biodiversity. At the same time, a striking example of the attention of the Azerbaijani state to the protection of biodiversity, flora and maintaining a stable ecological balance is its commitment to the obligations assumed in this direction before the international community.
The establishment of the Institute of Botany Public Legal Entity based on the Botany and Dendrology Institutes will bring together botanits. We are confident that joint activities in the "Forestry" department, which is planned to be established at the institute, will be more effective in developing dendrology, an important field of botany. It is worth noting that a petition was filed with the Ministry of Science and Education on behalf of the Scientific Council 6 months ago to establish a "Forestry" department at the Institute of Botany. This was also due to the liquidation of the "Forestry" Department operated under the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources at the time. Because the study and conservation of biodiversity of forest areas require a separate research. Considering that back in 1949-1950, by decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR, forest belts were created around the Central Steppe climatic region, characterized by the dry subtropical climate of the Azerbaijani type, in order to prevent drought and wind in Mil-Mugan and Mil-Shirvan plains. However, not only are such studies currently being conducted, but trees are also planted in these forest belts without taking into account the vegetation, which leads to their drying out and destroying. If we pay attention, we will see that forests are disproportionately distributed around the world, including in the Caucasus. The total area of forests in the world is 4 billion hectares. Almost half of this accounted for by 4 countries: the Russian Federation - 809 million hectares, Brazil - 478 million hectares, Canada - 310 million hectares, the USA - 303 million hectares. The area of forests in the world has decreased by half over the past 200 years. The total area of forests in Azerbaijan is 1021 thousand hectares. This constitutes 11.8% of the territory of Azerbaijan. This figure is 44% in the Russian Federation, 41% in Latvia, and 39% in Georgia. In the 18th-19th centuries, 35% of the territory of present-day Azerbaijan was covered with forest. Currently, the forest area per capita in Azerbaijan is 0.12ha. The Republic of Azerbaijan is ranked in the group "countries with the least forested cover".
The total area of forests in Azerbaijan is 1021 thousand hectares. This constitutes 11.8% of the territory of Azerbaijan. This figure is 44% in the Russian Federation, 41% in Latvia, and 39% in Georgia. In the 18th-19th centuries, 35% of the territory of present-day Azerbaijan was covered with forest. Currently, the forest area per capita in Azerbaijan is 0.12ha. The Republic of Azerbaijan is ranked in the group "countries with the least forested cover".
Despite of this, dendroflora of Azerbaijan is rich in terms of species composition. 4750 species of higher plants are distributed in the wild flora of the Republic. Of these, 435 species are trees and shrubs. 328 species of dendroflora are shrubs (75%), and 107 species (25%) are trees. Trees and shrubs are grouped into 48 families and 135 genera. Of the 144 endemic species in Azerbaijan, more than 50 are trees and shrubs (16% of the total number of trees and shrubs).
According to UNESCO estimates, 6 million hectares of recently fertile agricultural land are becoming unusable every year due to desertification. 10-12 million hectares of forest land are being destroyed.
The upper boundary of forests on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus which is considered one of the most ecologically stressful regions in our republic, soil erosion accelerated due to the influence of anthropogenic factors. According to the analyses conducted, 24 species of rare and endangered trees and shrubs were identified in Azerbaijan in 1975, 28 in 1984, and 45 in 1989.
261 thousand hectares of forest fund have been occupied by Armenia for nearly 30 years. The Eastern Zangazur and Karabakh zones are among the richest regions of Azerbaijan, as well as the Caucasus, in terms of flora diversity. Thus, Armenia has violated the international conventions on ecology and the environment to which it has joined, including the UN Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques. Thus, the forests of Karabakh, rich in the most valuable trees of the flora, were cut down and transported abroad. The balance of nature has been disrupted, and soil erosion has begun. In specially protected natural areas with an area of 43 thousand hectares (in the Basitchay and Garagol State Nature Reserves, Arazboyu, Lachin, Gubadli and Dashalti State Nature Sanctuaries), which remained under Armenian occupation for 30 years, 24 fauna and 69 flora species included in the "Red Book of the Republic of Azerbaijan" were protected, most of which have already been destroyed.
The mountainous areas of Karabakh consist of 6 ranges, but the flora of 3 ranges - the Karabakh, Zangazur and Daralayaz ranges - has been under occupation for many years. The state forest fund of 986 ha consisting of valuable tree species, 560 ha of Tugai forests (riverside forests) and 710 ha collective farm forests were destroyed as a result of fires caused during the occupation and nothing remained in place to this day. The only natural plane tree (Platanus orientalis) forest in Europe is in Zangilan district in the west of the Lesser Caucasus, but for 27 years, the plane trees, which had been spreading over an area of 117 hectares, have been destroyed and a wood processing plant has been built around them. There are plants, areal ranges of which are limited only to Karabakh.
The Institute of Botany previously had such a department, and prominent scientists such as Academician Ibrahim Safarov played an exceptional role in studying our forests from various perspectives. The main goal of the planned "Forestry" department is as follows:
We have experienced scientists who will be able to work in the “Forestry” Department planned to be established at the Institute. The activity directions of the department and laboratories will be re-evaluated, the proposals aimed at achieving main goals set ahead will be developed and submitted to the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
We are hopeful that, with the timely decree signed by the President, Azerbaijani science — including botanical science — will enter a new stage of development.
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