On 5 June, the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia marked World Environment Day by organising a series of outreach activities in its three Field Offices.

EUMM monitors, together with experts from the Rural Communities Development Agency (RCDA), visited a school near the Prezeti IDP Collective Centre and conducted interactive sessions with schoolchildren, including a drinking water quality workshop. The students also participated in an environment-themed art contest, with winners receiving special gifts from EUMM.

In another initiative, EUMM partnered with the NGO CENN and organised a clean-up drive with pupils from three schools near the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL). The collaborative effort successfully removed over 100 kg of waste, contributing to a cleaner environment for the conflict-affected population.

EUMM also donated plants to Zugdidi botanical garden, specifically selected based on the needs of the garden and participated in their planting together with botanical garden staff.

“Through these activities, EUMM underscores its commitment to sustainable use of natural resources, especially in the villages near the ABL, where sustainable practices are particularly important due to the socio-economic challenges faced by the conflict-affected communities,”  EUMM said in a press release.

EUMM is an unarmed civilian monitoring mission of the European Union, deployed in September 2008 following the EU-mediated Six Point Agreement which ended the Russian war against Georgia in August 2008. The mission headquarters is in Tbilisi, with field offices in Gori, Mtskheta and Zugdidi.

Since its deployment, the mission has been patrolling day and night, especially in the areas adjacent to the ABL with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Some 200 observers from different EU member states are on the ground.

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Press release