Georgia: local youth in Ozurgeti and Ambrolauri fight against river pollution

“Every thoughtless step eventually turns against us” and “Trash should be in bins, not in rivers” – banners with these messages are now displayed along the rivers in Ozurgeti and Ambrolauri municipalities, Georgia.

With the support of the European Union and the Caucasus Environmental Non-governmental Network (CENN), local youth have created eye-catching banners featuring QR codes that link to short videos showing pollution levels of each river.

Trained through the Georgia Climate Action project, young people spent seven months researching river pollution and waste management issues. Forty people attended thematic training sessions on climate change and assessed the condition of rivers in their municipalities and planned awareness campaigns, which included informational meetings, creating slogans, and producing informational videos.

Sixteen-year-old Nini Megrelidze, one of the project participants, said: “Our goal was to identify places that are attractive to tourists and where people can enjoy their time, and to check whether there are trash bins along the riverbanks and how polluted the surrounding areas are.”

“There are two major rivers in Ambrolauri—Krikhula and Ritseula. Although they are considered relatively clean, there are certain spots along the banks where trash is frequently left. This significantly pollutes the surrounding area, and sometimes waste even ends up in the water,” said another participant in the project, 29-year-old Salome Abutidze from Ambrolauri.

Find out more

Facebook post by the EU Delegation to Georgia

Article ‘Eco-activism in Georgia: Youth against river pollution’

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