DUSHANBE, August 2, 2013, Asia-Plus -- Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) together with informational network CARNet arranges a demo-tour on issues of return – and reused waters in Tajikistan within the framework of the European Union Project “Targeted Awareness Raising for Enhanced EU-CA Partnership (AWARE)” with financial support of EU, according to the Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan.

Demo-tour is taking place today on the territory of Dushanbe city with the involvement of 16 media representatives.

Demo-tour has reportedly been organized specifically for the journalists of the Republic of Tajikistan specializing on environment protection, including representatives of well-known media holdings and republican electronic and printed media.  Demo-tour is a unique possibility for the journalists to personally get to know the problems related to return water use in Tajikistan for repeated needs as well as to practically demonstrate issues related to water contamination. Indirect goal of the activity is involvement of large number of journalists into public awareness raising regarding issues of return (recycle) water supply.

16 media representatives are taking part in demo-tour. They will visit two sites recognized by the department for environmental protection of Dushanbe mayor’s office as one of the best in terms of introduction of re-used water supply and water treatment for drinking/technical needs and will also be able to participate in activities on examining territories of the companies, which are recognized as malicious violators of standards of environmental management in the sphere of use of water resources.  Specialists of the Committee for Environmental Protection will collect samples of water in these companies to test them for contaminants.

It is expected that based on the outcomes of this activity the journalists will publish a number of information and analytical materials in media, specifically, 2 video reports will be developed that will be shown both on the country level and beyond.

The awareness raising project has been conducted in five countries of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and covers three specific areas: 1) increasing awareness on return- and reused waters addressing gaps in water resources management; 2) increasing  awareness on the most compatible and applicable practices such as Shared Environmental

Information System (SEIS), etc; and 3) insuring private sector involvement by raising awareness on sustainable consumption and production (SCP), and energy efficiency (EE) as a gateway for Public-Private Partnership (PPP).