Tbilisi: The official of Georgian Environmental Supervision, which works under the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture revealed large number of cases of forest rules violations. The majority of cases were linked to the illegal use of forest products.
It is worth noting that environmental employees launched a fight against illegal forest use. According to official data from August 1 to August 31, 2024 there were 143 cases of illegal forest use. This includes 103 cases related to the illegal extraction and transportation of timber and 40 cases where violations of technical regulations were committed.
Many owners of illegal sawmills violated these regulations. In almost 13 cases, the violations also contained signs of a criminal offense, which can make them liable for strict punishment.
The data further disclosed that there are almost 47 cases of illegal forest use that were detected in Kakheti alone. Whereas 27 violations were recorded in Adjara, 16 in Samtskhe-Javakheti, 16 in Shida Kartli, 15 in Imereti, 10 in Kvemo Kartli, 4 in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, 4 in Racha-Lechkhumi-Kvemo Svaneti and 4 in Guria region also.
According to the forest official more than 163 cubic meters of illegally harvested timber were removed from restricted areas in total. In the same period enforcers sealed 6 units of unregistered sawmills throughout the country.
The recovered materials were sent to relevant agencies for further investigation. Notably fighting illegal forest use is a priority for the Department of Environmental Supervision. From January to August of the current year the department’s employees revealed 1637 facts of illicit use forest throughout the country. 87 illegal sawmills have been sealed.
The crews of the Department of Environmental Supervision carry out continuous 24-hour patrolling throughout the country to prevent, detect and suppress illegal forest use, hunting, fishing and other environmental violations in a timely manner. In addition each message received on the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture hotline (153) receives immediate response so that the offenders can be brought to justice.
