On July 17, the Information and Resource Center was opened at the Tashkent regional branch of the Ecomovement with the support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator, which will serve to enhance the ecological culture and improve the population's knowledge about the protection of the environment and public health.

The event was attended by deputies of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, representatives of the Office of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, experts from state environmental authorities, specialized NGOs, citizens' self-government bodies, members of the Kengash of Tashkent city and regional territorial offices, journalists and representatives of the general public  Employees and activists of the Ecomovement.

The Information and Resource Center was established within the framework of the OSCE project "Assistance to the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan in implementing measures aimed at protecting the environment - Phase II".

The purpose of the Information and Resource Center is to fully strengthen public participation in the protection of the environment not only in the center, but also in all regions of the country, improving the environmental knowledge and culture of residents, assisting in the implementation of public environmental control, establishing public environmental inspectors, methodological assistance to NGOs, working in the fields of ecology and medicine, as well as other institutions of civil society, as well as assistance in providing the media with environmental information.

A number of activities have already been implemented within the framework of the project. On August 12, 2016, the Information and Resource Center of the Namangan regional territorial department of the Ecological Movement was established. It effectively carries out its activities in matters of implementing public environmental control, prompt transmission of information on environmental violations, their elimination and prevention, drawing attention of responsible bodies to violations of legislation in the field of environmental protection, improving the ecological culture of the population, promoting a system of continuous environmental education and upbringing, wide involvement of the public in environmental protection activities.

It should be specially noted that strengthening international cooperation in the field of environmental protection is one of the main programmatic tasks of the Ecomovement. Strong ties have been established with a number of international and foreign organizations, in particular, with the OSCE.

Together with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, great work has been done on the movement: international conferences and seminars have been held, joint projects have been implemented, such as the construction of the bicycle path in Namangan, practical actions have been organized - cycling marathons to promote environmentally friendly transport, countries, the dissemination of information on the activities carried out in our country on nature conservation, etc.

One of such events was the June 7-8 this year in Tashkent an international conference on "Joint actions to mitigate the consequences of the Aral disaster: new approaches, innovative solutions, investments." The dissemination of information reflected in the final document of the international conference is an important task of the new Information and Resource Center.

Speakers at the opening ceremony of the Information and Resource Center noted the role of such centers in disseminating information on environmental problems of local, regional and global scale, improving the ecological culture of the population, increasing public activity in improving the environmental situation and protecting the environment, and most importantly in implementing the public environmental control.

Participants of the event noted that this Information and Resource Center will serve not only the asset of the Tashkent regional branch, but also the Tashkent city, Syrdarya, Djizak and other regional branches of the Ecomovement. The Center can be used by representatives of NGOs, mass media, citizens' self-government bodies and other institutions of civil society.