You are here: Home / Areas of work / Communication and Visibility / News / 22 June 2020 | European Union support will help Azerbaijan to have better access to information about water resources

22 June 2020 | European Union support will help Azerbaijan to have better access to information about water resources

Countries: Azerbaijan

On 22 June, water experts from Azerbaijan and the EEA held online capacity development training for managing the EcoPortal. The training focused on sharing environmental information, including that on water — a resource is vital for all life on our planet, ecosystems, society and the economy. This capacity building is in line with the EU’s objectives of promoting greener development and digitalisation in the Eastern Partnership region.

As Azerbaijan is one of the water-scarce countries in the region, water use efficiency and protection of freshwater ecosystems are vital. The EcoPortal of Azerbaijan will support sharing data and information among the water agencies to underpin knowledge-based policymaking in the country.

With the support from the EU, Azerbaijan’s water quality data have been harmonised in line with the Water Information System for Europe (WISE) water quality data dictionary. It is now compatible with the European dataset. Similarly, the indicators based on water quality data and published on the EcoPortal follow the EEA’s indicator template. This will enable comparison of the state of water resources in Azerbaijan with that of any neighbouring country as well as with that of any EU Member State. Having regionally comparable indicators will support knowledge-based policy dialogue on water resources at the national and regional level.

The indicator set developed also enables the public to get information on water availability and the quality of water they rely on in their daily lives and the economy underpinning their wealth and prosperity depends on.

The EcoPortal is the platform where all indicators are available, as well as much other data and information that will serve wider interests groups such as water practitioners, the research community and international organisations that are heavily dependent on national data for regional or global assessments. 

The system’s functionalities and the design of the EcoPortal are inspired by WISE, on which all EU Member States report their water data and share information. The EcoPortal presents water datasets, indicators, dynamic maps and reports. It allows data and information to be exchanged and shared among the national water agencies in line with SEIS principles and practices. Citizens, experts, practitioners and academics can now access various databases and compare Azerbaijan’s water quality data with the data of EU Member States.