Georgia: The five-year joint project “Strengthening the Financial Sustainability of Protected Areas in Georgia” between the Agency of Protected Areas, Global Environmental Fund (GEF), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and Caucasus Nature Fund (CNF) has been completed.
At the end of the event, the stages of the project and the results received were summarized, and panel discussions were held.
First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture Nino Tandilashvili thanked the project’s implementing and donor organizations. As Nino Tandilashvili noted, the results achieved by the project’s implementation are evident in the development of the biodiversity monitoring system and the improvement of the management system of protected areas.
“In recent years, Georgia has made significant progress in managing protected territories. We have created 32 new protected areas and increased the area of protected areas by 75%. We are implementing important projects to improve the management and management system of the protected areas, better protect biodiversity, create new e-tourism services and provide additional economic empowerment for the local people living around the protected areas. All of this is possible with the support of our international partners and the efforts of the Georgian Government. We will continue to work actively in this direction”, – said Nino Tandilashvili, the First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.
Maia Bitadze, Chairman of the Committee on Protection of Environment and Natural Resources of the Parliament of Georgia, attended the event after the project and noted that Georgia’s cooperation with international partners is important for the future development of the protected areas.
“The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is pleased to work with government partners, international and civil society organizations to promote the development of protected areas, which serve to protect biodiversity and natural heritage of Georgia for future generations,” said Dagla Ube, head of the United Nations Development Programme in Georgia.
The project “Strengthening the Financial Sustainability of Protected Areas in Georgia” included the target 12 protected areas with sustainable and adequate financial support.
Within the scope of the project, consulting services, creation of strategic documents, procurement of various inventory needed for biodiversity, research and monitoring of essential species, implementation of new technologies, implementation of knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation tools, development of ecotourism and ecotourism infrastructure in protected areas, which will improve the protected areas The socio-economic situation of the population living near the territories.
As part of the project, a modern SMART monitoring and patrolling system has been installed in 11 protected areas of Georgia. Rangers collect information using smartphones and tablets.
Thea Barbakadze, Chairman of the Agency of Protected Areas, Besik Kusidi, the National Director of the Caucasus Nature Foundation (CNF), and the Chairman of the Agency for Protected Areas, attended the event at the end of the project and talked about his experience. The representatives of the targeted protected areas selected for the project also participated in the event. It was noted that similar projects aimed at developing protected areas will be implemented in the future.
