In a village of Azerbaijan, people’s homes are destroyed, and trees are cut down en masse
Destroyed homes of local residents. Image courtesy of the author.
The Nagorno-Karabakh area has been under the control of its ethnic Armenian population as a self-declared state since a war fought in the early 1990s, which ended with a ceasefire and Armenian military victory in 1994. After the first war, a new, internationally unrecognized, de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was established. Seven adjacent regions were occupied by the Armenian forces. As a result of that war, “more than a million people had been forced from their homes: Azerbaijanis fled Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and the adjacent territories, while Armenians left homes in Azerbaijan,” according to the International Crisis Group.
One of the projects initiated as part of the reconstruction and development plan was the construction of a new road to the Kalbajar region — one of the previously occupied territories. Construction of the 81-kilometer (50-mile) Toğanalı-Kalbajar-Istisu highway began on July 23, 2021.
The highway starts from Toğanalı village, in Göygöl district, passing through the Murovdağ Ridge via a tunnel construction. However, the construction of the highway, while hailed by the authorities, led to the demolition of residential homes in the village of Toğanalı. Residents opposed the demolitions, citing unfair compensation, and remain uncertain of what will happen to their homes. In interviews, homeowners said they have been warned their homes will be demolished,’ but it is unclear when this process will begin or how much compensation they will receive.
Saida Verdiyavna is among the residents left in limbo. Verdiyevna told Global Voices in February 2025 that she has received no information on the future of her home for the past year. “At one point, government representatives came to our house and offered AZN 40,000 (USD 25,000) at first, then AZN 50,000 (USD 30,000). But we have not received or have spoken to anyone since then,” she explained.
Toğanalı is a small settlement in the northeast of Azerbaijan. According to a local source, who wished to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisals, there are 300 homes and 600 residents. This village is a popular summer resort, with tourism as one of the main sources of income for the people who live here. They earn seasonal income during the summer by renting out their houses and using this money to prepare for the winter.
However, the construction of a new highway is depriving some households of this income.
Ogtay Hajiyev told Global Voices in February 2025 that their property is on the side of the main road, and they used to rent it out during the summer months. However, ever since the construction of the new road began, large construction vehicles routinely enter and exit the village, causing considerable dust. The road through the village is still unpaved, and dust is spread when cars drive on it.
According to a local source, out of 300 houses registered in the village, 30 are on the demolition list. So far, seven have been demolished.
Another resident, Hidayat Hasanov, told Meydan TV in an interview in September 2023 that government personnel notified him his house was included in the plan and offered him AZN 39,000 (USD 23,000) for it. Hasanov did not accept the offer. The farmer explained that he had fruit trees in his garden, which the government personnel overlooked and did not offer any compensation. So, he opposed the demolition of his home and did not agree with the offer. Hasanov had 75 fruit trees, each earning him between AZN 50 to 100 in income (USD 29 to 59) from selling the fruits.
In 2024, President Ilham Aliyev traveled to the area to learn more about the progress made on this road. Hasanov’s home was demolished one day before the president’s arrival.
“When I got home from work, I noticed that there was a commotion and that people had gathered around our house. I noticed that our house was being demolished. I objected, saying I hadn’t signed any paperwork and had not been compensated. I asked, what was the reason behind the demolition of my home? I was told there was a president’s instruction to do so,” Hasanov recalled in the interview with Meydan TV.
Among those local residents who did accept the compensation and whose homes have now been demolished, many said they could not buy new homes with the money they received.
Selimnaz Verdiyeva lived with her husband in a shared house with the families of her two sons. Both sons had fought in the Second Karabakh War. Her husband is a veteran of the First Karabakh War. The family made most of their income from livestock farming. The demolition cost them their barn, and the family can no longer do livestock farming, Verdiyeva told Meydan TV in an interview in 2024.
Verdiyeva said the family was offered AZN 83,000 (USD 49,00 ), a minuscule amount when divided among three families. Another resident, Rübaba Bayramova, said she was repeatedly told to leave by state representatives without any conversation about where she should go or the compensation offered.
“We don’t know where we are going yet. Toğanalı is one of Azerbaijan’s most beautiful spots. People would come here to unwind throughout the summer because it was a popular tourist destination. We used to make a living here by selling village handicrafts and earning money from visitors,” Bayramova told Global Voices.
While farmers have not been provided with fair compensation, the village’s natural beauty was also not spared. Ecologist Arzu Verdiyev, who lives in Toğanalı, noticed how with the road construction came deforestation. Verdiyeva pointed out that this was against the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan, “On Protection of Greenery.” Azerbaijan already lags behind when it comes to protecting the environment. According to the Global Forest Watch, the country lost a total of 8.16 k ha (thousands of hectares; 20,000 acres) of tree cover between 2001–2023, a 0.64 percent decrease in forested area. But the situation is far more severe, according to environmental activist Javid Gara. In an interview with Chaikhana Gara, he explained that while the Global Forest Watch relies on satellite imagery to track the scale of deforestation, this kind of monitoring does not track the scale of deforestation at 100 percent because of the technology in use.
According to a report by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan produced in collaboration with the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus, deforestation is among several threats to the country’s ecosystem. The report mentions how “institutional and legal aspects” prevent the country from designing “sustainable management in the forestry sector.”
Other problems include financial allocation for “adequate capacity to improve foreign governance,” legislation that lacks provisions for “public and community participation in the governance of forests,” and lack of capacity and qualified staff as an obstacle for local forestry departments “to balance economic, social and environmental factors for sustainable forestry.” That and legal changes in 2017, which extended the term of forest leases from 10 to 49 years, have accelerated deforestation.
Many villagers are concerned about their future. They point out that, despite the fact that some houses were demolished in the beginning, demolition has only increased since the president’s arrival in 2024.
