Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)

Oct 13 2006

OSCE field office in Syunik province organizes environmental action

YEREVAN, 13 October 2006 – More than 30 schoolchildren and local
volunteers helped clean up some 2 hectares of land around the
Vahanavank (King Vahan’s Monastery) historic monument in the Armenian
province of Syunik this week.

The action was part of an environmental awareness and cultural
education campaign "Golden Autumn – clean and neat environment,"
organized by the OSCE Programme Implementation Presence in Syunik
province and the Aarhus Public Environmental Information Centre in
Kapan.

Special billboards with notices asking not to pollute the environment
were also installed in the area. Children found out more about the
history of the Vahanavank cultural complex, the preservation of
biodiversity, climate change, local and international environmental
laws.

"Ecological education is an important element in making sure children
help keep our environment cleaner," said Garik Chilingaryan, Project
Co-ordinator of OSCE presence in Syunik province. "Pollution in the
province is mainly caused by the mining industry, but we often forget
that all of us create household waste, which also pollutes the
environment."