The project is over. Long live the new project!

June 30 – is the last day of implementation of the project named “Together we shall preserve the clean environment of our native shore!”, which since March, 1 is being implemented by “Development Center of Bessarabia” PO in partnership with Horodne village council under the financial support of the Lion Society (Lviv, Ukraine) funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (Washington DC, USA).

The main objective of the project is to contribute to the improvement of environmental protection by activating residents, involving them in environmental decision-making and implementing local environmental protection initiatives. The objectives of the project were following: raising the awareness of public figures and environmental activists; activation of local public and charitable environmental organizations for preparation of relevant policy documents (strategies, programmes); introduction of a pilot project on restoration of the City Forest; informing the population about the project and importance of environmental protection.

The project is over. Currently, the project team draws up the reports. Among the main outcomes of the project, the following can be identified:

  • Sociological research was conducted. 219 residents of Horodne Territorial Community joined the assessment of environmental conditions and discussion on ways to improve the environmental situation.
  • A team of local environmental ambassadors was well-established; awareness of public figures and environmental activists was increased – 20 local environmental ambassadors were trained in a 16-hour programme.
  • On June, 24, 2021, the Comprehensive Programme for Environmental Protection, Rational Use of Natural Resources and Environmental Security of the City Council of Rural Areas for 2021-2025 has been developed.  The Programme was adopted. A total of 255 persons participated in the preparation and discussion of the Programme: 17 persons were engaged for the purposes of the strategic session; 133 persons participated in working meetings and 105 persons took part in public discussion of the Programme.
  • A pilot project on the restoration of the Horodne Forest was implemented: 225 pine seedlings were planted. 95 people were involved in the environmental campaign.
  • Information campaign was conducted: 8 articles were placed in the electronic media.
  • In total, 418 people took part in the project activities.

The main qualitative result of the project is the firstly-gained experience in democratic discussion and adoption of a document important to society; the activation of local residents, involving them in decision-making at the local level.

At the end of the project we have 3 months of fruitful work, 3 months of interesting meetings with caring people who love their region, care about its development, dream about clean environment for their grandchildren to live in and 3 months of fruitful work on the document, which will be the benchmark for making a dream come true.

The Comprehensive Programme for Environmental Protection, Rational Use of Natural Resources and Environmental Security of the City Council of Rural Areas for 2021-2025, adopted on 24 June 2021, is on the table.

While working on the programme, many innovative ideas emerged to address environmental issues, most of which may become new projects.

The project is over. Long live the new project!