A discussion over environmental issues among the journalists of three states of the South Caucuses was held

On May 2-5 a regional training seminar on “Ensuring land degradation neutrality in the South Caucuses” envisaged for the environmental journalists of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan took place in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The executives of the RA Ministry of Nature Protection were actively engaged in the event. Ashot Vardevanyan, National Focal Point to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) presented soil degradation problems in Armenia as well as ongoing works directed to tackling them. Journalists partaking in the conference, developed mechanisms within their working groups focused on conducting awareness raising on problems while combating desertification, on the bases of which there will be developed regional awareness raising programs.

The forum was organized by the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus (REC Caucasus) with assistance of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and GIZ ''Integrated Biodiversity Management, South Caucasus'' (IBiS) project.

Deputy Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia Ekaterine Grigalava, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Georgia Daniel Haas and Responsible Programme Director of Integrated Biodiversity Management, South Caucasus /IBiS/ Hans-Joachim Lipp said welcome remarks. REC CAUCASUS Directors Sophiko Akhobadze and Nune Harutyunyan delivered speeches; National Coordinators of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan made reports.

Jamal Annagylyjova, Program officer for Central and Eastern Europe, UNCCD Secretariat gave an essential speech.