Endangered forests

Wood is still taken unleagally from the Hirkan National park wich even host the endangered Leopard and other endemic spieces.

The ecosystem of the Hirkan National Park, belongs to the Caspian Hyrcanian (Girkan) mixed forestsecoregion, an area of lush deciduousbroadleaved lowland and montane forests (subtropical and temperate rainforests) that completely cover the Talysh Mountains and partially cover the Lankaran Lowland. This area preserves many endemic plants species, relicts of the Tertiary period which were not affected by Pliocene and Pleistoceneglaciations.There are several endemic subspecies of birds. The Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) subspecies of the leopard, lives in the southern regions in Azerbaijan, primarily in the Talysh Mountains, Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhichevan. Despite occasional sightings, it was not clear whether leopards had been extinct in Azerbaijan by the late 1990s until a species was caught on camera in March, 2007 in the Hirkan National Park.

Wikipedia

With no other affordable options for keeping warm in the winter and no trees around elsewhere people are forced to use wood from these areas. By producing a woodstove that could give as much heat with half of the wood (or mabe less). There will be a huge anvironmental impact.

Gouverment are doing things to stop forrestation and the newest contribution is the building of a modern gas powerplant in Lerik. We believe this will bring stable electricity to the villagers, but chances are that this will not make people switch to electric heating in the winter becauseit is too expencive to get a comfortable amount of heat. There are roumors that gas will eventually come, as for now there will be a great and instant effect if people started to burn wood in an effecient way combined with solar hot-water.