HRAZDAN, DECEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The opening ceremony of the Aarhus environmental protrction information center took place in Hrazdan, a regional center in Kotayk marz, on December 5. The center was opened with the assistance of the RA ministry of environmental protection and the RA ministry of education and science. In the words of the head of the OSCE Yerevan Office Ambassador Sergei Kapinos, the center will help strengthen the capacities of the sides dealing with environmental problems and promote their cooperation. "Such centers play an important role in environmental protection education, they also ensure a democratic procedure of decision-making by organizing public hearings and encouraging the public's participation at the local level," he said. "The Aarhus center will be an instrument for the local authorities to inform the population about environmental problems, use international experience and work out safe environmental programs," the regional governor of Kotayk marz Kovalenko Shahgaldian said. NT was informed by the OSCE Yerevan Office that the ninth Aarhus center will open in Gyumri (Shirak marz) on December 12.

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