OSCE Office in Yerevan promotes environmental awareness in south-eastern Armenia

KAPAN, Armenia, 19 April 2007 - Promoting environmental awareness and participation by the local community is the aim of an OSCE-supported project in Syunik, one of Armenia's remote regions.

As part of the project, Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, today presented prizes to the winners of an essay competition on ecology organized for the children of Nerqin Hand village, among which were an environmentally-friendly computer classroom and refurbished gym facilities.

The Governor of Syunik province, Suren Khachatryan, welcomed Ambassador Pryakhin and thanked the OSCE for its engagement. He outlined the key tasks for further development and expressed his desire to continue co-operation with the Organization.

"Sustainable development through protection of nature is high on the agenda of the Syunik province, and the OSCE Programme Implementation Presence stands ready to make its contribution to these efforts," said Ambassador Pryakhin.

The OSCE Programme Implementation Presence was established in Syunik in June 2006 to assist in implementing economic and environmental projects in the region and address local economic development, environmental awareness and participation, and rural poverty eradication.

In 2006, the "Green Land" NGO, with OSCE support, planted 2,000 oriental plane trees in the area of Plane Grove, the only natural grove in the Caucasus. Regenerating Plane Grove is aimed at attracting ecological tourism to the region, contributing to its environmental, economic and social rehabilitation.