The concept of terrorism also encompasses environmental terror, yet no one can dispute which form of terrorism is more devastating. At the outset, it should be noted that environmental terror is generally characterized by the deliberate or unlawful destruction, exploitation, or alteration of the environment, particularly during periods of conflict. The actions carried out by Armenia in Azerbaijan’s territories over the past 30 years constitute environmental terror.

It must be emphasized that although Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding seven districts are officially within Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized borders, they have been under Armenia’s illegal occupation for nearly three decades. As a result of the occupation, approximately 30,000 people lost their lives and more than one million Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their homes. Since then, Armenia has not abandoned its aggressive actions against nature. Consequently, the overall natural environment and biodiversity of these territories have suffered severe damage, and ecological degradation has deepened with each passing day.

Armenian environmental terror has also had a negative impact on Azerbaijan’s water management and planning systems. More specifically, some of the country’s transboundary drinking water resources and irrigation systems remain under Armenia’s direct occupation and have consistently been used as a “weapon” against the Azerbaijani people.

Water scarcity is a pressing global issue today, and it is particularly acute for Azerbaijan, where 72.7 percent of surface water resources are formed outside the country. Armenia continuously pollutes transboundary water resources with chemical and biological substances. Studies show that each year, 350 million cubic meters of water flowing from Armenia are contaminated with chemical pollutants.

In addition, along a 43-kilometer stretch of the Araz River passing through Azerbaijani territory, microflora and microfauna have been completely destroyed, and the concentration of heavy metals in the water exceeds permissible norms.

Azerbaijan’s highest reservoir by dam height (125 meters), with a total capacity of 560 million cubic meters—the Sarsang Reservoir located in the Aghdara region (Nagorno-Karabakh)—also remains under occupation. In the past, the Sarsang Reservoir supplied irrigation water to six districts of the Republic (Tartar, Aghdara, Barda, Goranboy, Yevlakh, and Aghjabadi).

When viewed from a broader perspective, it is not surprising that Azerbaijan signed the UN Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes in March 1992, while Armenia has still not done so. Armenia’s acts of environmental terror have been discussed multiple times within international organizations, and numerous articles and studies have addressed this issue. As a result, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted Resolution No. 2085 on January 26, 2016, entitled “Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water.”

The resolution states that the deliberate creation of an artificial environmental crisis should be regarded as “environmental aggression” and interpreted as an act aimed at creating environmental disaster zones and making normal life impossible for populations living there.

The resolution also notes that Armenia’s occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas has created similar humanitarian and environmental problems for Azerbaijani citizens living in adjacent non-occupied regions. It further emphasizes that the lack of proper maintenance of the Sarsang Reservoir for more than 20 years, located in one of Azerbaijan’s occupied territories, poses a serious threat to the entire border region. The Assembly warned that the dilapidated condition of the reservoir could lead to a catastrophe resulting in significant loss of life and potentially a new humanitarian crisis.

Taking all these facts into account, the Assembly called for the immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the region; on-site inspections by independent engineers and hydrologists; the regulation of water accumulation in the Sarsang Reservoir; the establishment of comprehensive management of water use and maintenance; and international oversight of irrigation canals, the condition of the Sarsang and Madagiz (now Sugovushan) reservoirs, seasonal water levels, and the excessive exploitation of water layers.

The Assembly also urged the Armenian authorities to cease using water resources as a political instrument or as a means of pressure benefiting only one party to the conflict.

Despite the adoption of the resolution, Armenia did not abandon its malicious and inadequate actions and continued to demonstrate a consistently non-constructive stance toward the principles of international law.

The Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajiyev, also stated that 30 years of environmental terror ended with the liberation of the Sugovushan village from occupation. The Tartar River is now flowing with abundant water. Armenia had always deliberately obstructed the water flow. Ecological balance will be restored in Azerbaijan’s Tartar, Goranboy, and Yevlakh regions.

It should be noted that the liberation of Sugovushan (formerly known as Madagiz) from Armenian occupation on October 3, 2020, created conditions for the restoration of regional ecological balance.