The meeting was chaired by Dr. Mary Matthews, Chief Technical Advisor and Regional Project Coordinator of the Kura II Project, who briefed the meeting on the main objectives and expectations of the second meeting on River Restoration in Azerbaijan.

The main issues discussed at the consultation meeting were the following:

1) Overview of the international best practices on river restoration projects and planning process by the International Consultant on River Ecology and River Restoration

2) Proposals on the most suitable sites in Azerbaijan for conducting river restoration activities based on the recommendations of the working group on the River Restoration

3) Recommended Strategy and Approaches to be used for the Kura River Basin Restoration projects in Azerbaijan based on the results of the field trip

4) Brief information on the field trip to survey the suitable sites for the River Restoration projects in Azerbaijan         

5) Final recommendations of the meeting on the selection of the suitable sites for the implementation of the River Restoration project in the Kura River Basin

The meeting took note about the main environmental challenges of the Kura River Basin in Azerbaijan and the necessity for the restoration of the natural conditions and functioning of the Kura River for biodiversity conservation, recreation, flood management and landscape development. The meeting participants discussed issues to be addressed in the strategy and approaches to planning and management of river ecosystems and clarified a number of aspects regarding the implementation of the restoration of the Kura River in pilot areas.   

The main recommendation of the meeting was to organize the field trip to survey the suitable sites along the Kura River aimed at the identification of the main pressures on the river basin ecosystem and defining the strategy and approaches to be used for the holding of river rehabilitation activities in Azerbaijan as follows:

1)     Hajigabul Lake in Shirvan city and its surrounding areas   

2)     Sabirabad city (the confluence of the Kura and Araz Rivers)

3)     Shamkirchay Water Reservoir and the downstream  of  Shamkirchay River in the Shamkir region

4)     Varvara Water Reservoir/Dam and its downstream area and Hunting Farm of MENR

5)     Alijanchay River in the Oguz region

6)      Zayamchay River in the Tovuz city