UN raises children’s awareness on environment protection

The activity aimed to raise ecological awareness among children and help them to start caring about nature, water resources and flora and fauna, as well as develop understanding and promote the behavioural change in relation to rational consumption and waste minimization and management.

The Educational session included presentations by UNDP Turkmenistan/Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection project "Sustainable Cities in Turkmenistan: Integrated Green Urban Development in Ashgabat and Awaza”, UNICEF, Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan, Society of Nature Protection of Turkmenistan and young SDG Ambassadors.

About fifty children aged 10-14 years of old learnt about how plastic affects the planet and people’s health, participated at sports competitions and games and environmental education quizzes.  As a result of this initiative, children were able to increase their knowledge on waste management in an informal format, which allowed them to practice and have fun while learning about waste reduction, reuse and recycling. Through interactive discussions and practical lessons children developed a sense of wise consumption and rational use of resources.

Prior to this session, on 31 May 2021 the Environmental awareness training for young SDG Ambassadors was organized by UNDP experts which allowed them to actively facilitate the educational session for children in the summer camp. 

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World Environment Day takes place every year on 5 June. It is the United Nations’ priority day for promoting worldwide awareness and action for the environment. The theme for the World Environment Day 2021 is “Ecosystem Restoration” and it focuses on resetting our relation with nature. It also marks the formal launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, which is intended to massively scale up the restoration of degraded and destroyed ecosystems to fight the climate crisis and prevent the loss of a million species.