ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION HAS NO BOUNDERIES

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[12:00 pm] 26 September, 2006

A number of Armenian, Azeri and Georgian journalists met in the
Georgian city of Shindis to discuss the issues of environment
protection and to find common ways of cooperation.

The Armenian and Azeri journalists focused on the issue of
mingling environment problems with political ones. They debated
on the rivers bordering the two countries. As we know the Azeri
side is constantly complaining that Armenia deliberately pollutes
the rivers flowing through Azerbaijan, whereas Armenia claims that
there is no evidence to prove it. The point is that the monitoring
is not perfect in either country, and the water quality of the
neighboring country is unknown. "Environment issues are often made
political. These issues often become the theme of such seminars but
they always remain insolvable," noted Arevhat Grigoryan, an Armenian
specialist. Lilit Haroutyunyan, program coordinator of the environment
issues of the Caucasian region, added that the matter will find its
practical solution lest the countries shift the matter to political
sphere. "There is no political dialogue between the two countries,
and environment is beyond politics," she said.

The Caucasian countries have got similar environmental problems –
the main concerns in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan are wood cutting,
wastes, and common utilization of the water pool.

The two-day seminar entitled "Assistance of political community,
state and mass media into the ecologic dialogue" and initiated by the
environmental protection centre of the Caucasian region was aimed at
revealing the common problems of the countries under question as well
as at finding ways for journalists to render assistance to countries,
NGOs and business sector. The journalists came to the conclusion
that the faults and shortcomings of the sphere are the same in the
three countries; the state bodies violate the laws regulating the
environment sphere, there are not willing to provide information and
sometimes we come across people in the sphere who are unaware of the
environment sphere and its problems.

"The state bodies, mass media and NGOs are on the way of development
and such debates will contribute to all sides," noted Souren Deheyan,
representative of "Armenian Now" electoral weekly. By the way, the
journalists confessed that sometimes the journalist turns out to be
unaware of the problems of the sphere himself; he doesn’t understand
the information of the source properly or delivers it to the audience
in wrong way. "Eco-journalism is not so authoritative. In fact there
is an urgent need of serious and literate journalists. Journalists
can prevent new ecological calamities," said manager of the program
Lela Janashia.