‘From My Window’ environmental campaign rings the alarm bell

UNDP, the Caucasus Nature Fund and the Agency of Protected Areas call for better environmental protection and greener life choices

July 24, 2022

The photo contest winner. Photographer: Givi Toidze

We are watching life through our windows, but often fail to notice some major changes. Every year, the world loses around 10 million hectares of forests. 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans. Climate change threatens people with food and water scarcity, increased flooding, extreme heat, more disease, and economic loss. As we see the environmental crisis unfolding in front of our eyes, everyone must take urgent action to protect the planet.

‘From My Window’, a photo exhibition and artistic performance in one of Tbilisi parks, sends an alarm message to all people, calling for better environmental governance and greener life choices.

A symbolic ‘room’ invites people to look through the windows and decide what future they wish to see – a green and healthy planet or a toxic environment, choking on plastic and chemicals.

A photo exhibition placed around a makeshift ‘room’, includes stunning images of Georgia’s protected areas that safeguard natural treasures.

The artistic display also showcases photographs taken by people from their windows to capture the human impact on the environment. Some of the photographs focus on pristine wildlife, with green trees and majestic lakes. Some, on the contrary, show pollution and environmental degradation, highlighting that humanity’s devastating footprint forever alters our natural surroundings.

Photographs were collected through a contest announced on social media in July. Over 50 people from across Georgia submitted images taken from their windows.

‘From My Window’ was initiated by the Agency of Protected Areas of Georgia’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture and supported by UNDP, the Global Environment Facility/GEF and the Caucasus Nature Fund/CNF. The original idea belongs to Levan Kashibadze, a professional photographer and environmental activist.

Representatives of the Agency of Protected Areas, UNDP and CNF attended the opening of an exhibition on 24 July. They saluted the contest participants and announced the authors of the three winning photographs.

“The Agency of Protected Areas spares no effort to safeguard Georgia’s nature. Public engagement is the key to accomplishing this task. “From My Window” is fully in line with our vision that every step people make has either a positive or a negative impact on the environment. Georgia’s protected areas have a long history that spans more than a century. For now, they take 11.5 percent of the country’s territory, ensuring the health of our natural environment. We should work together as a society to protect this resource by adopting and implementing sustainable green policies, greening our lifestyles and seeking sustainable environment-friendly solutions.”

Deputy Chairperson of the Agency of Protected Areas Besik Kusidi.

“Each of us can make a difference. Saving the planet sounds like an enormous task but it starts with our personal choices and with the decisions we take in our daily lives. ‘From My Window’ proves that the first important step we can make is to recognise the challenge and raise our voices for a sustainable green world."

Anna Chernyshova, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Georgia

The two-day ‘From My Window’ exhibition will be open to visitors on 24-25 July.

The Agency of Protected Areas, UNDP and CNF, drawing on the resources of the GEF-funded US$1.8 million programme, will continue their joint work to support Georgia’s protected areas and introduce modern approaches to biodiversity monitoring and conservation.

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