TWO leading environmentalists from Ukraine will visit West Devon this month to share their experience with members of award-winning Tavistock-based charity WestDEN.
The former Soviet state suffers from virtually unregulated industrial pollution and the River Dnipro, which passes through Chernobyl on its way to the regional capital of Prydniyprovya, is classed as one of the most heavily-polluted in Europe.
The visitors, Pavlo Khazan and Alla Lytvynenko, who run the Youth Environmental League of Prydnivprovya, organise environmental campaigns and action by young people across Ukraine.
The Ukrainians? visit is part of the Rural Links project which shares sustainable development ideas between partners in India, Ireland, Albania and Ukraine.
WestDEN director Oz Osborne said: ?We are using our experience in West Devon to help the Ukrainian group develop an action plan to help measure and improve the environment and quality of life in Ukraine.
?We are the first smaller community group to be funded by the British Government to carry out this type of work in one of the Central and Eastern European states and we hope to extend the work to other countries such as Kazakhstan, Moldova and Russia,? he said.
During their visit Pavlo and Alla will give a presentation about their work to a meeting of WestDEN members at Yelverton Methodist Church Hall, at 7.30pm, next Thursday (December 12).
Also speaking at the meeting will be Food for Thought co-ordinator Sue Errington who will talk about her experience at the Johannesburg Earth Summit in September, which she attended with two members of the Devon Youth Council.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting where WestDEN staff will also talk about the future direction of environmental change and action following the Earth Summit.