Azerbaijan Files Biodiversity Claim Under Bern Convention

• Published date: 30 January 2023
• Subject Matter: Environment, Environmental Law, Climate Change, Clean Air / Pollution
• Law Firm: Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
• Author: Simon Walsh

On January 18, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it had commenced an action against Armenia under the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention). This development marks the first known interstate arbitration brought under the Bern Convention, which was signed on September 19, 1979. Azerbaijan argues that Armenia has caused "extensive destruction" of the environment and biodiversity of the area during Armenia's near 30-year "illegal occupation of internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan." The press release states that "Armenia's widespread deforestation, unsustainable logging, and pollution through significant construction and mining in areas that were protected nature reserves prior to occupation has put over 500 wildlife species at risk in Azerbaijan," and that when "liberating" the territories in 2020, Azerbaijan was able to collect evidence of "Armenia's destruction of the environment," whose activities had caused "severe harm to the area's natural habitats and species, depleted natural resources and destroyed biodiversity." The statement references a 2022 UN Environment Programme report which describes "environmental impacts at three levels: i) deforestation and land degradation; ii) suspended sediment pollution in rivers; and iii) chemical pollution of water, soil, and biota [animal and plant life]."

According to its press release, Azerbaijan is seeking an order from the arbitral tribunal for Armenia to cease all ongoing violations of the Bern Convention and to make "full reparation for its environmental destruction." The Bern Convention was signed in 1979 and entered into force in 1982. The aims of the Bern Convention, as established in Article 1, are "to conserve wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats, especially those species and habitats whose conservation requires the cooperation of several States, and to promote such cooperation." Additionally, the Bern Convention gives particular emphasis to conserving "endangered and vulnerable species, including endangered...