A working meeting was held with the participation of the local government representatives in connection with the creation of new protected areas. These new protected areas will be established in Samegrelo, Svaneti, and Lechkhumi.
It is worth mentioning that at the meetings all the participants discussed the importance of establishing new protected areas. This creation of new areas will be helpful for biodiversity protection, improvement of the socio-economic condition of the local population, and development of the region.
The parties on the occasion were provided with information on the processes related to the creation of new protected areas, which will be implemented with the involvement of the local population. The new areas will have specific boundaries and zones of planned protected areas, according to which the draft law will be prepared.
Karlo Amirgulashvili the head of the Department of Biodiversity and Forestry of the Ministry of Protection and Agriculture addressed the attendees and stated “The establishment of protected areas is one of the priority areas for the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture. Currently there are 100 protected areas in Georgia and they make up 13.3% of the country’s territory.”
He further added that “The regions of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti in Georgia are distinguished by vibrant biodiversity and ecosystems and the creation of new protected areas here is a historical process that will contribute to the preservation of the nature of these regions increasing the tourist potential and raising the socio-economic well-being of the population.”
It is worth mentioning that the German government project “Biodiversity and Local Sustainable Development in Georgia” supports the process of studying and creating new protected areas. The protected areas established in the past years have contributed significantly to protecting Georgia’s flora and fauna.
The environmentalist expressed concern about the growing challenges to the country’s biodiversity due to inaction by the state government. However the government on its side is also doing its best to allay the fear that government inaction can damage the rich biodiversity of the country.
