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Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan map out new environmental agenda
Shina Ansari, Iran’s Vice-President and Head of the Department of Environment (DoE), met Turkey’s First Lady Emine Erdogan and Azerbaijan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev between October 17 and 19, outlining a plan to tackle shared environmental challenges stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Zagros Mountains, IRNA reported.
Ansari told Erdogan that Tehran was ready to draw on Ankara’s experience in waste management, biodiversity, and protection of wetlands. “Waste management is a fundamental priority in Iran’s environmental policy,” she said, calling for a joint committee on forestry and water resources and regular exchanges of technical experts.
Erdogan said environmental cooperation among neighbors could pave the way for “regional and global peace”, adding that Turkey was open to working “in all fields” of nature conservation and resource efficiency.
In a separate meeting, Ansari and Babayev agreed to revive previously signed accords and develop joint initiatives to protect the Hyrcanian Forests – a UNESCO-listed ecosystem stretching across Iran and Azerbaijan – and to coordinate regional positions on forest degradation at the upcoming UN Climate Conference (COP29) in Baku.
Babayev, who also serves as COP29 President-Designate, emphasized the need to maintain continuity in regional dialogue. Referring to President Ilham Aliyev’s recent address to the UN General Assembly, he urged faster coordination among Caspian Sea states to address the falling water level, calling it a “pressing regional concern”.
Ansari backed the proposal and pressed for an early-2026 meeting of the parties to the Tehran Convention – a Caspian-region environmental pact – to be held in Tehran. “The agenda must be clear, and final approval for hosting should be secured as soon as possible,” she noted.
The Zero Waste Forum, running from October 17 to 19, brought together ministers, mayors, and environmental experts from across Europe and Asia under the theme “People, Places, Progress”. Turkey launched the initiative in 2017 under Emine Erdogan’s patronage, and it has since become a UN-endorsed global platform.