THE director of a West Devon charity is this week taking part in a high-powered international conference in Kiev, which could help shape the environment of Europe in years to come.
Oz Osborne of WestDEN is attending the five-day Environment for Europe conference in the Ukraine, at which government ministers and representatives from non-government organisations will investigate how European countries can work together more closely to benefit the environment.
Mr Osborne said: ?This is a fantastic opportunity to influence international policy and to make sure tighter rules are adopted across Europe to protect our environment.?
The conference will look at setting common standards for European countries on issues such as pollution, climate change and recycling ? and to tackle turning pledges from the Johannesburg Earth Summit into reality.
Mr Osborne said the conference would also help countries share their experiences in improving the environment.
?For example, we could learn a lot from Sweden and Germany ? two countries which manage to recycle more of their waste than we do in the United Kingdom,? said Mr Osborne.
?WestDEN has been invited to the conference because the organisers feel we offer a really good example of how communities can work together towards improving the environment.
?Since WestDEN started in 1993, we have found successful ways of involving local people in our projects ? and this experience may be useful to other groups doing similar work.?
During the past few years, WestDEN has worked in Albania and the Ukraine on projects funded by the British Government, sharing skills and ideas with community groups working to improve the quality of life.