GTZ-SMB Program hosts special event to celebrate World Water Monitoring Day

PanARMENIAN.Net - To celebrate the World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) in Armenia, the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) Sustainable Management of Biodiversity (SMB) Program hosted a special event on September 16.

High-ranking officials of GTZ-SMB partner ministries in Armenia, the heads and representatives of international and local organizations as well as school teachers, pupils and eco-club members were invited to participate.

At the event, the results of 2010 environmental education campaign Exploring Biodiversity of Rivers and Streamlets in Armenia were presented. Successful implementation of the campaign was achieved due to productive collaboration with Armenian Ministry of Nature Protection, Ministry of Education and Science and experts of the National Institute of Education and Environmental Effect Monitoring Center.

In the framework of the campaign and intent on teaching about modern environmental pedagogic methods, biodiversity of rivers and biological monitoring techniques, the GTZ-SMB Program organized five 3-day trainings for total of 120 school teachers from Armenian regions and Yerevan. As a result of these preparations, the teachers and trainers were able to organize eco-excursions with more that 1200 pupils and eco-club members who carried out comprehensive scientific assessments of water quality of rivers and streamlets in their communities.

A competition entitled Rivers-Living Ecosystems was designed to motivate both, teachers and pupils, to explore biodiversity, examine and evaluate water quality of Armenia’s waterways.

The STZ-SMB program aims to create and raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity and sustainable use of natural resources.