17 June is World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

An information meeting was held with the students of VII-IX grades of the Cervantes Gymnasium Aia-Jess School at the EIEC of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia on the occasion of the World Day against Drought and Desertification.

The meeting was opened by the Director of  EIEC Tamar Aladashvili.

"Protecting the soil and maintaining its fertility is an important issue for our country because the sustainable use of soil in Georgia is the main resource for the development of agriculture and the economy and is a prerequisite for living in a sustainable environment." Our common goal is to express a reasonable attitude towards the environment, evaluate our own behaviour, and change it in favour of the environment. "Providing information to young people about the need to protect the environment, maintain its sustainability, and rational management of natural resources will help us create a society that takes maximum care of the environment," said Tamar Aladashvili.

At the information meeting, Nino Chikovani, Head of the Land Resources Protection Division of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, introduced the students to the functions of the soil and the main factors causing its degradation: excessive grazing, reduction of forest areas, incorrect and unsustainable agricultural activities, and non-agricultural development. The students discussed with special interest the regions of Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli, and Shida Kartli, where there is a danger of desertification.

June 17, World Drought and Desertification Day, was declared by the UN General Assembly in 1994 and is celebrated annually to raise public awareness of the international effort to combat desertification and to urge us to take care of the soil as a limited and essential resource.