OSCE Centre marks Earth Day in Tajikistan

DUSHANBE, 20 April 2007 - Teaching people to understand environmental challenges and to be more responsible towards nature is the aim of a series of events which the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe is organizing in Khujand, Kulyab, Garm and the Nosiri Hisrav district on 20 and 22 April to mark Earth Day.

In Khujand, the OSCE Centre's Field Office together with the NGO "Youth Group for Protection of Environment," the Sogd Regional Department on Youth, Sport and Tourism, and the Sogd Regional Department on State Control over the Use and Protection of Nature organized a cleanup at the Khujand Botanical Gardens on 20 April.

In Kulyab, the OSCE Centre's Field Office and the NGO "Youth of the 21st Century" organized a competition for young environmental activists on the best essays and drawings on environmental protection, as well as a concert, on 20 April.

In the Rasht region in western Tajikistan, the OSCE Centre's Field Office in Garm, local authorities and members of the national Green Patrols movement will organize a conference on land degradation and natural disaster preparedness on 21 April. They will also raise awareness among local residents on degradation of the Surhob River slopes and the risk of consequent natural disasters.

In the Nosiri Hisrav region in south-western Tajikistan, the OSCE Centre's Field Office in Shaartuz and the regional authorities will clean the territory of the Chilu Chor Chashma spring on 22 April and raise awareness among local people on preserving nature for future generations.

"Earth Day is celebrated only once a year, but we need to keep best environmental practices in mind to make sure that the land is preserved, the air is clean and the water is pure," said Klaus Rasmussen, Acting Head of the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe. "Our Office is ready to provide support to ensure that Tajikistan can effectively address the environmental challenges it faces."

Umed Ulugov, co-ordinator of the Green Patrols movement, added: "Every day should be Earth Day. We want to encourage people to be more active in preserving the environment and making the world a better place to live."

Earth Day has been commemorated since 22 April 1970, when some 20 million people held peaceful demonstrations in cities across the United States to draw attention to increasing environmental problems in their neighbourhoods and around the world.