BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 18. Climate change
adaptation and post-conflict recovery have become two of the most
significant challenges facing modern urban planning, Anar Guliyev,
Azerbaijan’s national coordinator for the World Urban Forum
(WUF13), said Monday, Trend reports.


Speaking at the official opening press conference on the second
day of WUF13 in Baku, Guliyev, who also chairs the State Committee
for Urban Planning and Architecture, said discussions are underway
with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) on
assessing implementation of the New Urban Agenda over the past
decade and shaping a new urban climate agenda for the next 10
years.


Guliyev pointed to the heavy rainfall recorded during the first
days of the forum as an example of the growing impact of climate
change.


“This is a result of climate change. I have never seen so much
precipitation in Baku in May. This is already a new reality,” he
said.


He stressed the importance of strengthening cities’ ability to
adapt to increasingly severe environmental challenges.


Guliyev also highlighted Azerbaijan’s post-conflict
reconstruction and urban development efforts under the country’s
“Great Return” program in the formerly occupied territories.







According to him, mine clearance operations, urban planning and
large-scale restoration projects are being carried out
simultaneously across the liberated territories, including in 12
cities and hundreds of villages.


He said the process involves not only rebuilding infrastructure,
but also creating a new standard of living for returning
residents.


Guliyev added that modern governance models and institutional
reforms are being implemented in Karabakh and East Zangezur, where
approximately 90,000 people currently live, work and study.


He noted that Azerbaijan’s reconstruction experience has
attracted growing international interest, with discussions taking
place with several countries on post-conflict urban recovery
practices.


Concluding his remarks, Guliyev said the increasing number of
conflict-affected regions worldwide makes effective reconstruction
and the restoration of normal life especially important.