Azerbaijan’s ongoing water scarcity crisis has reached a critical point, exacerbated by years of inadequate infrastructure, mismanagement, and the mounting pressures of climate change, Global Voices reported on September 3.

Despite repeated government pledges to address the issue, the situation continues to deteriorate, with severe consequences for both rural and urban populations.

The Kura and Araxes rivers, which supply 78% of the country’s water, have long been central to Azerbaijan’s water resources. In an effort to combat water shortages, the government inaugurated the Caspian Sea Water Desalination Complex in 2013. More recently, in March 2023, the Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency (ASWRA) was established to oversee water policies and regulations. Yet, despite these initiatives, water shortages remain pervasive.

The root causes are manifold. Outdated infrastructure, including inadequate wastewater treatment and management facilities, has left large swathes of the country, particularly in rural areas, without reliable access to water. As bne IntelliNews reported, the crisis has become so bad that the level of the Caspian Sea has been falling and the volume may shrink by a third, threatening to disrupt the country’s economy as well as its agriculture and the sea’s ecosystem.

Corruption and lack of oversight have further hampered water distribution efforts, with state institutions failing to deliver on their responsibilities. “From now on, drinking water and irrigation projects will be on our agenda as the most important issues,” President Ilham Aliyev declared in 2019, yet these promises have rung hollow as the crisis deepens.

The situation is particularly dire in Azerbaijan’s northern region of Zaqatala. Residents reported to Meydan TV in August that they have been suffering from drought for years, with little to no response from authorities. “[The officials] tell us the water lines must be renewed. But we are not told who must be renewing these lines nor why the process is delayed,” one resident lamented Global Voices reports. The issue is not isolated; according to a World Bank report, most small towns and rural areas in Azerbaijan lack access to professionally operated water services.

The crisis has also sparked unrest. In Saatli, frustrated villagers staged protests last year after repeated attempts to engage with state officials over their water shortage concerns were ignored. Rather than addressing the complaints, the government responded with force, firing rubber bullets to suppress the protests.

Even in the capital, Baku, water scarcity is becoming increasingly acute. This summer, several districts were left without water for weeks due to unannounced repair work on a major water pipe. Residents, caught off guard, were left to cope without any clear indication of when the water supply would be restored.

The growing urban population is adding further strain to Azerbaijan’s already stretched water resources. A recent study by the Baku Research Centre noted a significant increase in urbanisation, with the percentage of the urban population rising from 52.2% to 54.5% over the last two decades. This demographic shift, combined with internal migration, has intensified demand in cities, particularly in Baku, where water shortages are becoming more frequent.

Despite the establishment of the ASWRA and the existence of multiple other state institutions involved in water management, including the National Water Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, coordination and efficiency remain lacking.

Azerbaijan’s water scarcity problem is not new, but the government’s repeated failures to effectively address it are becoming increasingly untenable. Azerbaijan is set to host the COP29 meeting on the global Climate Crisis this autumn.