28 October – 2 November 2019. 2 young researchers from Kyrgyzstan awarded on the XVI International Junior Forestry Competition

I usually spend summer holidays in my small motherland, overgrown with the brushwood of sea buckthorn. Having seen how local residents destroy the natural sea-buckthorn, I decided to find a way to preserve it”, explained Atai Kydyrbaev the choice of his research theme “Establishing industrial plantations from the large-fruited sea buckthorn varieties introduced to the Kyrgyz Republic”.

Atai is one of the participants of the XVI International Junior Forestry Competition, which took place from October 28 to November 2, 2019 in the city of Voronezh, Russia. Thanks to his successful research work, Atai and his friend Adilet Dushaliev received scholarships for free education at the Voronezh Forestry Engineering University. In addition, the work of participants from Kyrgyzstan was published in the “Catalogue of Innovative Developments in Forestry”.

120 representatives from 21 countries of the world – regions of Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America – took part in the competition. They became acquainted with the current trends of the International Forestry, shared their practical knowledge about forestry and discussed pressing environmental issues. The competition contributed to the cooperation of young people from around the world and generated interest in conducting researches.

The GIZ Sustainable Land Management Program, together with the State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry of the Kyrgyz Republic, supports the development of interest among the younger generation in environmental issues and the mainstreamification of forestry professions. The trip of two participants from Kyrgyzstan is one of the successful examples of such cooperation.