Leyla Aliyeva Met with Rory Moore, Marine Biodiversity Expert from the Blue Marine Foundation

On 26 October 2015, a marine biodiversity expert from the Blue Marine Foundation Mr. Rory Moore, who is on a visit to Azerbaijan, was received  by the Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, founder and Director of IDEA Public Union Leyla Aliyeva.

It should be noted that a delegation headed by Charles Clover, Chairman of the Blue Marine Foundation, prominent UK based charity specializing in the protection of marine biodiversity, had visited Azerbaijan in February of 2015 upon the invitation of the IDEA founder Leyla Aliyeva. In the course of the visit, the ecological situation in the Caspian Sea had been discussed and an agreement reached on the involvement of leading experts from the Blue Marine Foundation in the process of restoration of the Caspian fauna.

During the meeting, Leyla Aliyeva highlighted the activities and achievements of IDEA in the field of protection of the environment in the region. She expressed concern about the ecological situation in the Caspian Sea, especially degradation of its rich fauna observed in recent years, and stressed the importance of benefiting from the international experience as a solution to the problem. It was noted that, in this regard, IDEA closely cooperates with leading international experts specializing in the marine environment.

Rory Moore noted that Azerbaijan was famous with its rich fish stocks, adding that the country had great potential for the development of the relevant field. He noted that he would analyze the situation with the fish stocks in the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan’s internal waters as well as with the country’s fishing industry, and would present his comprehensive report to IDEA Public Union. The report will also reflect recommendations on recovery of biodiversity of the Caspian Sea. Moore underlined the importance of applying state-of-the-art technologies and using scientific methods to improve the situation.

The Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE) is a UK registered charity set up in 2010 with a view to protect the marine environment and eliminate threats faced by the world’s oceans. The mission of BLUE is to achieve the protection of 10% of the world’s oceans by 2020 through a network of marine reserves and private sector led solutions in the sea.