Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan is known not only for significant contribution to the energy security of Europe, but for its rich history and culture that combines the wisdom of the East and the progress of the West, Heydar Aliyev Foundation Vice-President Leyla Aliyeva said during her speech at the opening ceremony of the 7th INEPO-EUROASIA International Environmental Project Olympiad in Baku on Friday.

"I would like to thank the organizers and supporters of the International Environmental Project Olympiad event for their efforts and priceless contribution. It is symbolic that this event is taking place here, at the heart of this unique region, which presents untapped potential of natural resources, as well as strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East," she stressed.

According to Aliyeva, by implementing a range of initiatives, Azerbaijan measurably improved own environmental performance, and has helped its neighbors to do the same.

"Azerbaijan is the leader in this region and our environmental policy builds directly from our strategy aimed at improving the eco-efficiency of resource use and moving toward more sustainable modes of production and consumption," Aliyeva underscored.

Entering the new age we faced with some problems, she noted.

"Not that far ago we have entered this long-awaited new century facing problems that caused social disintegration and violence to increase, strategic balances to change, world disorder to intensify, and a great variety of exploitation to become systematic. The truth, that is hard to admit, that most of us care more about our own welfare than we do about that of persons living three or four or five generations hence. Too often we act as if we were not part of nature. Rather than thinking of ourselves as nested in nature and dependent upon it, we think of ourselves as sitting on top of it, managing it. With this attitude one can predict with the high probability the emergence of a global catastrophe in the future," Aliyeva said.

According to her, that is why, today, this struggle toward our common future should be based on a fundamentals of environmental education at schools and colleges.

"Our youth today is the most important intellectual, cultural and professional reserve, on the quality of life and development of which depends the fate of our states," Aliyeva stressed.

She said Azerbaijan is a country of amazing nature and rich biodiversity, located in nine of the eleven climate zones. "It is our belief that the time has come for present generations to act with an eye to the protection of future generations".

"It has been almost two years since we launched IDEA (International Dialogue for Environmental Action) - the international public awareness campaign. This campaign became a platform for implementing of various mechanisms in the field of environmental protection, as well as youth policy. Our philosophy - "Releasing the power of youth to create greater harmony with our global environment" - allows us to focus on youth and consider it as an important tool to change the way we behave with surrounding us nature," Aliyeva said.

Speaking about campaign activity, Aliyeva said last year the IDEA Resource Center was opened at the Academy of Public Administration of Azerbaijan. "This center since became a home for those who want to create, protect, and nurture. We have witnessed how IDEA Resource Center made a difference through innovation, leadership, and proactive actions. Also, for the first time, the capital of Azerbaijan hosted "Green Week," organized by the IDEA campaign jointly with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)," she noted.

"From the beginning of our campaign we identified the Caucasian Big Five - bear, eagle, wolf, gazelle and leopard, which are endangered species and the healthy survival of which should be considered as our main duty," she said.

According to Aliyeva, in order to promote dialogue, education, leadership and cooperation among youth not only in Azerbaijan, but around the globe, we have established partnerships with young environmentalist groups from all around a world.

"For example, IDEA campaign has signed Memorandum of Understanding with WWF Russia - which allowed us to add Caucasian bison to our IDEA's list of endangered species - and we are working on similar legal document with WWF Turkey," Aliyeva noted.

She also stressed, that over the past 10 years, Azerbaijan has undertaken considerable efforts to assess the status of the Caucasian leopard and develop approaches for its conservation. This big cat, being one of the rarest species of the region, has been recently spotted by WWF's camera traps in two out of many Azerbaijani National Parks. For many years this beautiful animal has not been seen anywhere. Today, after receiving a proof that these beautiful, but rare and endangered species survived only in Azerbaijan, our task now is to preserve and ensure the living conditions for this and other rare species in their natural habitat.

"We succeeded in the field of environmental education and projects, specifically tailored at protecting the environment of the entire region and Azerbaijan in particular," Leyla Aliyeva said.

According to her, IDEA for Green Azerbaijan" educational and training project raised the awareness on environmental issues, increased their theoretical and practical knowledge.

"In more, than 20 cities our instructors promoted environmentally friendly behavior in around 8,000 middle school students from different regions of Azerbaijan. I can proudly state, that starting next academic year on the initiative of our campaign, environmental education classes will be included in the curriculum of schools in Azerbaijan," Aliyeva said.

"However, we do not restrict ourselves to educational programs. This spring, with our partners from Lithuania, Russia, Britain, Italy and Kyrgyzstan we will be putting on nesting boxes for birds in the parks of the capital cities of those countries," she noted.

According to Aliyeva, this project will symbolize the unity in the commitment to support and protect nature, regardless of the politics.

"We should understand one undisputed factor - that today we live on a human-dominated planet. The growth of the human population and the growth in amount of resources used are altering Earth in unprecedented ways. Through the activities of agriculture, fisheries, industry, recreation, and international commerce, humans altered the life on this planet in unimaginable ways," she underscored.

According to Aliyeva, value of natural resources can be identified and expressed in the form of money, but the value of clean air, natural landscapes and unspoiled ecosystems in monetary terms is almost impossible. "They are simply priceless".

"I am optimistic about the future. I think that it is the current generation of citizens, by inheriting best of traditions of preserving the nature and learning about the environment will be able to eliminate all threats to the present and future of our children," Aliyev underlined.

"And this is the case, where we all can contribute! The safety, happiness, and indeed continuation of this planet that we live on depend upon the implementation of the projects displayed at the Olympiad. We need to unite our efforts in a task of protection of each species on the planet, fresh air, clean drinking water, safe nutritional sources... In short, a world which would be proud to hand over to our children," she noted.

Leyla Aliyeva was awarded by the Organizing Committee of the INEPO-Euroasia.

The international Olympiad was organized by the Ministry of Education, IDEA Campaign (International Dialogue for Environmental Action), Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry, Azerbaijan's State Oil Company, the Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (ITV), Cag Ogretim Company and International Environmental Project Olympiad (INEPO-Euroasia).

The Olympiad with nearly 500 participants from 45 countries aims to inform young people on solution of growing environmental problems and environmental protection, as well as the preservation of natural, cultural, historical and social and aesthetic values.

Only 22 projects out of 625 projects submitted by foreign countries could gain a right to partcipate in the Olympiad in 2013. In Azerbajian only 78 of the total 214 projects could qualify for the next round.