Karimov made the remark at an event on "State of environment and natural resources in East Zangezur and Karabakh economic regions".
According to the deputy minister, during the occupation, plane trees had been destroyed in most of the territory of the Basitchay State Reserve (Zangilan district).
He noted that serious damage was caused to the ecology of the Garagol State Natural Reserve (Lachin district).
"During the occupation, the water from Lake Garagol had been intensively used for economic and other purposes. This led to a decrease in its level and a sharp reduction in biological resources. During the studies it was found that the population of golden trout was almost completely destroyed," Karimov further said.
"However, during the occupation, 131 ancient trees had been cut and burnt down. Besides, 288 hectares of forests, in which unique plane trees grew, were completely destroyed," added Karimov.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war [the first Karabakh war], Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Karabakh conflict were introduced on Nov. 10, 2020.
(trend.az)
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