The purpose of local environmental programs of municipalities is to involve the entire local population in the solution of environmental issues that are not provided for in the state environmental programs or in addition to them. These programs include measures to maintain the existing ecological balance in the local environment; greening and landscaping of the municipality; collection, transportation, neutralization, processing, and other issues in this area; protection of water, air, and land from all kinds of pollution together with neighboring municipalities, implementation of environmental measures, and other measures of local importance.
TopEnvironmental Factors Affecting Azerbaijan
New industrial development and economic growth have presented a lot of environmental challenges to Azerbaijan. Some of those challenges are degradation of nature, scarcity of water, deforestation, climate change, marine pollution, and air pollution. Now, the government realizes the environmental challenges, and it’s planning to lower the pollution rate (Mammadov & Khalilov, 2005).
The rapid development of all sectors of the economy over the last century has resulted in an increase in the negative impact of human activities on the environment and the overuse of natural resources. Maintaining the ecological balance, rational use of natural resources, protection of water, soil and air from pollution has become a universal problem. In addition to demographic growth, concerns such as the sharp increase in consumption and the depletion of natural resources that cannot be recovered in the future have also affected environmental thinking and activities. Maintaining the necessary balance between the economy, society and the environment in the context of the global environmental crisis can only be achieved through the formation of a new environmentally safe and economically optimal model of development - sustainable development. Although each country has its own environmental strategy and policy, global goals are aimed at ensuring that people live in a healthy environment, protecting and developing the environmental values of society, and improving the quality of the environment (Asian Development Bank, 2005).
Taking appropriate measures to address environmental problems in Azerbaijan, the state policy aimed at improving the environmental situation is an important part of the country's sustainable development strategy. To ensure environmental security, minimize and improve environmental pollution, rational use of natural resources to meet the needs of present and future generations, use alternative energy sources and achieve energy efficiency, assess needs at the national level on global environmental issues, identify solutions, international Expanding relations with organizations is one of the main directions of the country's environmental policy.
The country's environmental strategy is aimed at protecting natural resources at the national, international and regional levels, strengthening the coordination of activities in the field of environmental protection, applying the principles of science-based development, ensuring sustainability in the use of economic and human resources. Back in 2003, Azerbaijan adopted the National Program for Environmentally Sustainable Socio-Economic Development (Mammadov & Khalilov, 2005).