To increase eco-culture through joint efforts The first persons of the State Committee for Ecology of the Republic of Uzbekistan spoke at an off-site meeting of the International Press Club at the new ski resort Amirsoy. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the ministries of health, internal affairs and emergency situations, the State Committee for Tourism, the Youth Union, the creative intelligentsia and clergy, journalists and bloggers. The location was not chosen by chance. One of the main topics for discussion was the problems of safety and environmental culture of the population, in particular, those vacationing in such corners of nature. The presenters gave examples familiar to everyone who has been to the neighboring Chimgan tract. At the entrance there are kilometer-long traffic jams, and on site there is a mixture of people, cars, horses and ATVs. A dangerous neighborhood sometimes, unfortunately, leads to tragedies. The picture of the area where vacationers leave a lot of garbage also leaves much to be desired. The meeting participants discussed the reasons for this behavior and ways to correct the situation. “For many years this issue has not received enough attention. After the reorganization of the State Committee for Ecology and Environmental Protection in 2017, our department expanded its capabilities by gaining control over the area of sanitary cleaning,” noted First Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Ecology Ibratjon Karimov. – If a couple of years ago in the Bostanlyk district, where the current meeting is taking place, there were practically no conditions for the collection and removal of solid household waste, then recently about 20 machines have been purchased, and work has been organized in this direction. Here, as well as throughout the republic, they began to actively bring violators to administrative responsibility for throwing garbage in the wrong places. However, it is important to understand that about 160 thousand people live in the area, at least another 200 thousand vacationers are added to them during the season, and there are only seven committee inspectors. It is proposed to strengthen eco-education from early childhood and use creative approaches to promote the ideas of nature conservation. The importance of cooperation between the efforts of not only government agencies, but also business, civil society and the people themselves was emphasized, while avoiding shifting responsibility to only one side. – There are many different opinions about the effectiveness of the existing system of fines for violations of environmental legislation. For some, such measures of influence are sufficient, for others they are not,” said Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Ecology Khabibulla Khusanov. “Our services remove tons of solid household waste every day throughout the country, including from such recreational areas, but problems remain. It is all the more important to improve the ecological culture of the population so that every compatriot helps keep the region clean and tidy. We must start with ourselves.
Enhance eco-culture through common efforts
