MIRAS Social Organization in Support of Studying of Cultural Heritage implements a project entitled “Clean Village-Protection of Ecological and Ethnographic Identity with Participation of Local Communes and Sustainable Development” since March, 2014. The project is realized with the support of the Council of State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations under the Auspices of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The employees of the Organization arranged educational trainings with representatives of local communes of Chiyni, Gagali and Ulguj villages of Agsu region on 17-19 July 2014. Negative influence of garbage on environment, human health and general development of the area and the ways of their prevention were dealt and relevant recommendations given to the participants in this line in the trainings attended by experts on ecology, cultural heritage, tourism and town-planning. The representatives of local community also got information about current legislation on protection of environment, ecological situation in the area, cultural heritage monuments, the opportunities to develop tourism in rural areas.
Chairman of MIRAS Organization, the project manager, PhD Fariz Khalilli familiarized the training participants in all three villages with monitoring and survey of ecological and ethnographic situation held here before within the project and the survey outcomes. It is known that there are serious problems over protection of environment in the villages. Non-collection of household wastes timely, orderly and planned and dirty areas hinder study and display of historical and cultural monuments there and create problems over tourists’ involvement in this field.
Later deputy head of MIRAS Organization and project coordinator Arzu Soltan spoke about official bodies, laws, programs as well as international conventions as indicators of the state’s consideration of important of environment protection in Azerbaijan. We must all realize that the world’s further development depends on the settlement of mainly ecological problems.
Ecologist expert Gulshan Huseynova made speeches on “global climate changes” in Chiyni and Ulguj villages and in Gagali Village where drinkable water lacks the speech was about “problems over drinkable water”. Ecologist-expert Elmira Abasova talked about importance of protection of environment in three villages and taking into account specific peculiarities of the villages, gave recommendations. Member of MIRAS Organization, young tourism expert Aida Malikova gave information on the practice of development of rural tourism in the world and the opportunities of application of these experiences in the villages of Agsu region. Professor Agasalim Azizov, expert on town-planning spoke for necessity of existence of detailed plan design in rural areas.
Member of MIRAS Board, photographer Mammad Rahimov, members of MIRAS-Parvana Azimova, Rahim Rahimli and others participated actively during the trainings.
Trainings held in Chiyni, Ulguj and Gagali Villages within the project “Clean Village” were welcomed heartily by commune members. Trainings were arranged in the form of discussions, proposals and recommendations. It was decided that volunteer groups of rural representatives created; cleanliness work done together with the project members based on the expert instructions and the ways of preservation of environmentally friendly rural climate found in the future.
Books and leaflets on topics ecology and ethnography were presented to school and rural libraries of each three villages, as well as books of MIRAS Organization at the end of the event.
The project will be continued in August.