Azerbaijani researcher explores economic dimensions of environmental challenges – INTERVIEW
Baku, April 1, AZERTAC
AZERTAC presents an interview with Nubar Jabrayil, a student of the International Relations faculty at ADA University who has been admitted to Imperial College London, ranked as the world’s second-best university according to the QS World University Rankings.
- How did your admission process to a prestigious university like Imperial College London go? What was the most challenging stage?
- I started the application process quite early on so that I could receive a decision quickly. I submitted my application within a week, and I was surprised when I was invited to an interview because I did not expect it to happen so soon. Since I already had experience with applications to foreign universities, writing essays and compiling the documents was not particularly difficult. The most challenging part of the application was choosing my research area, because there were many interesting environmental fields to specialise in. The hardest part overall, however, was being abroad while applying and not having my parents physically with me, as they are usually my greatest source of motivation.
- Why did you choose the Environmental Economics and Policy track within the Environmental Technology programme?
- The Environmental Technology programme is designed for people with experience in many different fields such as economics, engineering, resource management, and the social sciences. There are eight specialisations, and I decided to choose the one that aligned most closely with my undergraduate background and my research interests.
- What ideas do you have regarding an economic approach to Azerbaijan’s ecological problems?
- In my opinion, water scarcity and pollution of the Caspian Sea are among the most important ecological issues in Azerbaijan, because these problems directly affect not only the environment, but also people’s daily lives, economic activity, and long-term sustainability. The depletion of water resources creates serious risks for agriculture, food security, and regional development. Pollution of the Caspian Sea, on the other hand, harms biodiversity, marine ecosystems, and coastal habitats. To address these problems more effectively, it is extremely important to study their causes and consequences in greater depth, which means increasing field-based research. I believe that by applying an economic approach to these areas, it is possible to design policies that encourage more efficient use of resources, take into account the economic cost of pollution, and aim for long-term sustainability. For example, more effective tariff and regulatory mechanisms in water governance would, in my view, be an appropriate economic approach.
I am particularly interested in conducting fieldwork and using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to better determine the scale of environmental problems, thereby contributing to the information-gathering process that can later be used in policymaking. For example, I am especially interested in questions such as which mechanisms could accelerate the desalination process, which innovative approaches would be most suitable and effective in the Azerbaijani context, and what kinds of economic incentives could support such policies.
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