Azerbaijan: Sustainable tourism discussed at forestry seminar

Experts from the EU-funded forestry programme, FLEG II, presented their findings at a three-day seminar on the promotion of sustainable tourism and recreation facilities in the regions of Azerbaijan. According to them, sustainable recreation and tourism have great potential in the regions of Azerbaijan, however there is a need to increase knowledge and resources on the ground and inform the public on the issue, especially youth.
 
FLEG II Country Coordinator Azer Garayev expressed concern with insufficient knowledge of sustainable recreation and tourism in the country as well as the lack of technical and material resources in the regions. To address this issue FLEG II has supported a number of young foresters’ groups in the forest-dependent regions of Azerbaijan.  This initiative was repeatedly praised by the participants as a successful example of shared knowledge and cooperation. "We believe in enormous capabilities of environmentally-aware youth to push forward initiatives aimed to protect and expand the country's forest resources” said the expert.
 
The €9 million ENPI FLEG II programme aims to improve forest law enforcement in seven countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. It carries out pilot projects and addresses forest fire and climate issues, building upon the achievements of its predecessor, the ENPI FLEG I programme. (EU Neighbourhood Info).
 

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