Observations made on the beaches of Shykh reveal once again that the concept of cleaning our beaches does not exist or does not work…
Cleaning and protection of water basins in Azerbaijan, prevention of depletion of biodiversity in waters are among the constitutional duties of every member of society. Recently, this issue has become more relevant.
Globalized World Integration Public Union with the support of the State Support Agency for Non-Governmental Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan implements the project “Monitoring of a number of water basins of the country and their biodiversity”. The purpose of the project is to help maintain and protect water basins in Azerbaijan, protect biodiversity in waters, restore control over water resources in Karabakh, maintain the beauty of nature and the cleanliness of the environment, and increase the attractiveness of the country in terms of tourism, especially ecotourism. Within the framework of the project, opinions and proposals related to the subject are learned from experts, public associations and social activists, interviews are prepared and distributed. In addition, as a result of the observations, reports about the current state of Azerbaijan’s water bodies and their bioresources are being published in the media.
This time, we are presenting the report we prepared from the free beach facing the building of the customs office in Shikh area, close to Lokbatan district.
This free beach located in the Shikh area is cleaner and wider than the other beaches on the left. Although it is already the second half of September, visitors to the beach are still observed. Indeed, it is interesting to have almost as many people here as in the summer and go into the sea. We guessed that many of those people are tourists from post-Soviet countries. In fact, the area is used as a beach in summer and by amateur fishermen and sometimes even poachers in summer and other seasons. In fact, it is strange that fishermen use nets and nets at the same time as people bathing in the sea, and there is no control over this. This picture creates a very inconsistent situation. As we mentioned, although the area is relatively clean, it is not littered like other places. So, although visible places on the beach are kept clean, you can find a lot of garbage weeds on the cliffs and in hidden places. When you take a short walk around the beach, you will come across piles of garbage that are trying to be hidden. As if this was lost, huge balls of rubbish were piled up behind a high fence on the side of the beach towards the city. Various household items, mostly plastic waste, “decorate” those areas on the beach. In addition, even the beach itself, where the sea waves touch the edge of the beach, is polluted with garbage. In addition, garbage is thrown into the area from the residences and tourist facilities near the beach. Despite being located at the entrance of the city, it is not a good thing that the area is filled with stinking garbage. It can be said that the relevant institutions are inactive in terms of cleanliness and environmental control. Apart from those who come to bathe in the summer, the fishermen who visit the area daily in almost all seasons also have their share in the pollution and waste. In addition, it is observed that the coast is occupied by individual people as if dividing it into parts on Shikh beaches. Those places are occupied either as a tourist object or simply for capture. The unsanitary and excessive pollution on the beach is very thought-provoking.
These observations once again reveal that the concept of cleanliness regarding our beaches does not exist or does not work…