County Provides Environmental Training for United Nations Program

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eb/envfellow.pr 00-470

Contact: Esther Bowring, 240-777-6530
Ellen Scavia, 240-777-7700
For Immediate Release: December 28, 2000

County Provides Environmental Training For
United Nations Program

For the next three months, the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will be hosting Abdumuhtor Ashuraliev, a hydrologist from Ferghana who works for Uzbekistan's state environmental protection committee. Under the "Management of Change" program, a partnership of the United Nations Development Program, the Government of Uzbekistan, and the Academy for Educational Development, managers are trained in new approaches and techniques for working in a competitive environment to aid Uzbekistan's transition to a free market economy.

"I am here to learn environmental policy and enforcement of environmental law from a local government perspective," said Ashuraliev. "Although it was difficult to leave my family for three months, I was motivated by a desire to learn about the economic benefits of environmental protection. Poor management of water and land resources in my country and overuse of the Aral Sea have created a heightened awareness of the need for rational use of natural resources in central Asia."

Ashuraliev will attend regional planning meetings, public hearings, County Council meetings and citizen advisory group meetings to observe participatory government firsthand.

"Working with an international fellow has deepened our staff's appreciation of global environmental issues and made us acutely aware of how far the County has come in improving environmental quality for our residents," said Ellen Scavia, chief of DEP's environmental policy and compliance division. "It is a privilege to have the opportunity to affect environmental policy half-way around the world. It highlights how global humanitarianism can begin in small ways through personal relationships."

Ashuraliev will tour the County's waste-to-energy incinerator, recycling and leaf composting facilities, methane gas extraction operation at the Gude Road Landfill, leachate treatment system at the Oaks Landfill, stormwater management structures, and the Seneca water treatment plant. He is particularly interested in DEP's application of geographic information systems in environmental protection.

For more information, call Ellen Scavia at 240-777-7700.

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