Tbilisi: Yuri Nozadze, Deputy Minister of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia, Recently sisted the Chachuna National Park for Inspection. He was accompanied by the Chairman of the Agency of Protected Areas, David Iosebashvili, and the Deputy Head of UNDP, Anna. The main aim of the visit was to explore the possibilities of ecotourism in protected areas of Georgia.
It is to be specifically mentioned that the Development of ecotourism infrastructure and services in Chachuna Agktili is going in full Swing under the framework of the “Sabuko” (Society for Conservation of Nature) project. Moreover, Creating and developing visitor services got attention on nature conservation in Chachuna Akktili.
Notably One of Georgia’s distinctive Chachuna National Park has arranged cottages for tourists, campsites and bird observatory places, as well as a bird feeding station. These facilits provides the opportunity to supply and observe rare species of wild animal and birds.
The new project underlined the restoration and renovation of existing habitats in Chachuna and its surrounding areas, conservation and Development of ecotourism direction. Additionally, under the framework of the same project, a dedicated site will be built, which will further promote the self-renewalment of the Chali forest.
Yuri Nozadze also noted that It is very important to note that projects like this are fully compatible with the parameters of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture’s protected areas development policy. Similar projects are planned in other protected areas, too.
It is noteworthy that the new ecotourism services in Georgia are a source of additional income for both the protected areas and the local population, which will be more actively involved in biodiversity conservation.
The project is being implemented with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Global Environment Fund’s Small Grant Program (GEF SGP). This project is also being carried out with the involvement of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture Agency, the Nature Conservation Society Sabuko, Dedoplistskaro Municipality and the local population.
The minister highlighted the commitment of the Georgian Government to the protection of protected areas throughout the whole country. Additionally, the Government vowed to boost ecotourism in these areas so that it benefits the locals. Moreover, Tourism will also create employment generation for the residents of protected areas.
