The three-day capacity building workshop for policymakers presented key conceptual, terminological, legal and policy-related issues around migration, environment and climate change in the country and worldwide, and provided examples of concrete tools to support national policy making in Azerbaijan. 

The sessions were delivered by Daria Mokhnacheva (MECC Division, HQ) and Vassiliy Yuzhanin (Regional Office in Vienna) from IOM, and national experts Dr. Gulchohra Aliyeva (Research Fellow, Environment, ADA University), Mr. Yagub Yagubov (Head of Analysis of Migration Processes and Information Support Division at the State Migration Service), Mr. Gulmali Suleymanov (Director of Department of National Hydrometeorology, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources), and Dr. Sadiga Mehdizadeh (Visiting Research Fellow, Law, ADA University). For details, please see the workshop agenda (EN) and the flyer (Russian). 

The three-day capacity building workshop for policymakers presented key conceptual, terminological, legal and policy-related issues around migration, environment and climate change in the country and worldwide, and provided examples of concrete tools to support national policy making in Azerbaijan. 

The sessions were delivered by Daria Mokhnacheva (MECC Division, HQ) and Vassiliy Yuzhanin (Regional Office in Vienna) from IOM, and national experts Dr. Gulchohra Aliyeva (Research Fellow, Environment, ADA University), Mr. Yagub Yagubov (Head of Analysis of Migration Processes and Information Support Division at the State Migration Service), Mr. Gulmali Suleymanov (Director of Department of National Hydrometeorology, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources), and Dr. Sadiga Mehdizadeh (Visiting Research Fellow, Law, ADA University). For details, please see the workshop agenda (EN) and the flyer (Russian). 

Over twenty participants attended the workshop, including government officials from Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, State Migration Service, Ministry of Emergency Situations and the State Statistical Committee as well as those from academic institutions such as Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), Baku State University and the Caspian Center for Energy and Environment of ADA University.

The workshop identified key priority areas for Azerbaijan, including:

• improving the understanding and assessment of risks and vulnerabilities associated with sudden onset disasters;
• assessing the potential for planned relocation;
• reviewing existing policy and legal frameworks, in particular in relation to cross-border displacement following natural disasters, and identify possible ways to strengthen these frameworks and to integrate good practices from other countries;
• strengthening further the capacity of key institutions and actors in Azerbaijan to address these issues at the national and local levels;
• raising the awareness of communities and key institutions regarding risks, rights and relevant support mechanisms;
• supporting adaptation through improved environmental management in areas exposed to degradation so as to limit the pressure to migrate out of those areas.

The workshop was funded by the IOM Development Fund, organized by IOM Baku and IOM HQ, and was the first IOM MECC capacity building workshop conducted in Russian.