“Let’s Protect the Deer!” Ecological Summer Camp – Qakh

From July 13 to 15, the next ecological summer camp titled “Let’s Protect the Gazelles!” was held under the initiative of Leyla Aliyeva, Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder and head of the IDEA Public Union, as part of the program “Reintroduction of Gazelles to Their Historically Inhabited Areas in the Caucasus,” focusing on educating and developing young people.

Organized by the IDEA Public Union, the Youth Foundation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic Children and Youth Development Center of the Ministry of Education, and the Azerbaijan branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), with the support of the Executive Power of Gakh District, the camp was attended by about 60 students from Gakh District.

The main goal of the ecological summer camp “Let’s Protect the Gazelles!” is to educate the younger generation living in areas where gazelles have been reintroduced, including those near their natural habitats.

During the camp, students participated in presentations, training sessions, and excursions about the lifestyle of gazelles, their settlement history in our country, their distribution areas and role in nature, as well as the efforts and successes in restoring the population of this rare species. They also took part in various ecological competitions and fun environmental quizzes. Children engaged in inter-team ecological games in nature, studied tracking of our fauna species based on footprints, and learned safety rules in natural areas. At the end, participants were awarded certificates and souvenir gifts.

The program “Reintroduction of Gazelles to Their Historically Inhabited Areas in the Caucasus” was initiated by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in 2010 and is currently successfully implemented within the framework of the joint cooperation of the IDEA Public Union, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, and the WWF Azerbaijan branch. Over the years, more than 150 gazelles have been reintroduced from Shirvan National Park to areas in Azerbaijan and Georgia where they historically lived, with ongoing monitoring and conservation efforts. While the program focuses on increasing and protecting the gazelle population, one of its main objectives is to raise public awareness. Summer camps organized for schoolchildren in this context are of significant importance.

It should be noted that, as a result of these successful efforts, the gazelle population in the Republic of Azerbaijan is currently estimated to be up to 7,000 individuals.