More than 70 journalists from Central Asian countries, members of civil society, international organizations and the Environmental Protection Committee took part in the event, sponsored by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and supported by Tajikistan’s Committee on Environmental Protection.

The festival included a competition to award outstanding media coverage of environmental matters.

"The OSCE supports the implementation of the Aarhus Convention in Central Asia, which grants the public the right to access tp environmental information, to participate in decision making and to justice in environmental matters. Media plays a crucial role in implementing the convention, and it also may contribute to sustainable development and conservation of the environment," said Frank Johansen, Political Officer, OSCE Office in Tajikistan.

"The Central Asian Journalism Festival facilitates dialogue between journalists and public authorities as well as the civil society, which leads to better environmental reporting," he said.

Davlatov Khursand, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Environmental Protection, added: "Since 2002, we have been involved in the festival as organizers and partners. It is very important that this event continues in close collaboration with the public sector and media within the State Environmental Program of Tajikistan and is included as one of the events in the ’Water for Life’ decade."

The Journalism Festival is intended to increase environmental awareness and sustainable natural resource use in Central Asia by encouraging media to cover environmental matters in a substantive way.