Schoolchildren's summer camp "Let's Protect the Leopards!"

IDEA Public Union and the Azerbaijan Representative Office of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Center and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, have launched the summer camp titled “Let’s Protect the Leopards!” within the framework of the “Conservation of the Caucasian Leopards” project. The camp, which hosted over 30 schoolchildren from the southern regions of the country, was organized in the Masalli district.

The aim of the “Conservation of the Caucasian Leopards” project is to inform schoolchildren living near the habitats of the Caucasian leopard about this rare species and to promote its conservation.

During the camp, which will take place from July 9 to 11, the students will receive extensive information about the lifestyle, distribution areas, and significance of leopards. They will also participate in various ecological studies, quizzes, and competitions.

It should be noted that the project aimed at the conservation of the Caucasian leopard has been implemented by WWF since 2002. During this period, leopards have been identified in four areas in Azerbaijan. Currently, monitoring of these rare predator populations is being carried out in the Zangezur range and the Hirkan forests.
In 2009, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources adopted a national action plan to strengthen leopard conservation. The area of Specially Protected Natural Areas within the habitats of leopards has been increased fourfold.

In recent years, the efforts of Leyla Aliyeva, Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder and head of the IDEA Public Union, within the “Big Five” program—which covers the protection of five fauna species at risk of extinction in the Caucasus (bear, wolf, gazelle, eagle, and leopard)—have also shown results in the conservation of leopards.

Among these efforts, special mention should be made of the Caucasus Biodiversity Summit, dedicated to species of the cat family (leopard and other felids), held on May 7, 2014, at the Heydar Aliyev Center on the initiative of the IDEA Public Union, with organizational support from the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Heydar Aliyev Center. The Summit, attended by leading experts from around the world, was one of the major steps taken toward the conservation of leopards in the Caucasus. During the conference, Leyla Aliyeva emphasized that it is difficult to hope for environmental protection without the support of the younger generation.

Summer camps like this, carried out as a continuation of the Caucasus Biodiversity Summit, are highly effective in engaging young people from an early age in nature conservation, biodiversity protection, and increasing their activity in these efforts.