Young environmentalists have adopted a declaration urging the public and world leaders to take individual responsibility for the environment.

The young people passed the declaration at the end of a camp in Gabala in Azerbaijan on the "Role of youth in ecological management: today and tomorrow”.

“We, young people from 35 countries around the world, are aware of the threats of emerging environmental problems," the declaration says.

"We believe that the current global economic models have a negative impact on the environment and destroy irreplaceable natural resources. We believe in the power of youth to create harmony with the environment.”

The young people urge the public and leaders across the world to take individual responsibility for every problem, to respect the right to live in a safer world with less carbon, to require more mutual understanding and to hear the voice of young people.

The international camp was organized by International Dialogue for Environmental Action, IDEA, an organization set up by Leyla Aliyeva.

On the second day of the camp, a representative of the Free University of Berlin, Thomas Skad, and the president of the ETIJAH Youth Institute of Egypt, Hisham Muhammad Al Roubi, addressed a session on the “Impact of climate change on youth”, moderated by Millennium Project Director Jerome Clayton Glenn.

A senior adviser at the UNDP in Russia, Alexander Averchenko, and an official of Bulgaria’s Environment and Water Resources Ministry, Veneta Triffonova, addressed the second session on the “Effective use of energy resources”, moderated by the director of the UK-based EcoMuslim organization, Omar Faruk.

A representative of the Caspian Sea research centre at the Free University of Berlin, Behrooz Abdolvand, and a member of the Estonian parliament, Rainer Vakra, shared their opinions on the “Development of innovative technologies”, moderated by Tristan Azbejin, an adviser at Hungary’s ruling Fidesz – KDNP party.

The camp, which brought together over 100 young people from 35 countries, aimed to contribute to efforts to build working relations among various ecological groups and movements in the region and around the world through cooperation and joint action, to encourage young environmentalists to play an active role in the public life of their regions, to promote their role in their communities and encourage them to act as ambassadors to raise ecological awareness.