Georgia: The Environmental Supervision Department announced on Friday that Georgian authorities identified 188 cases of illegal logging and timber transportation in April of this year all over the country, 14 of which contained elements of criminal offenses.
The state agency also said that they had seized a total of 211 cubic meters of illegally gathered timber, with the highest number of cases- 40- registered in the western Imereti region.
Cases of illegal logging were identified in the following regions:
- Kakheti – 39 cases
- Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti – 31 cases
- Samtskhe-Javakheti – 24 cases
- Adjara – 17 cases
- Shida Kartli – 13 cases
- Racha-Lechkhumi-Kvemo Svaneti – 10 cases
- Kvemo Kartli – 8 cases
- Guria – 2 cases
- Mtskheta-Mtianeti – 1 case
In the capital city of Georgia, Tbilisi, three examples of illegal logging and transportation of timber were revealed.
The agency further said that they had recorded 60 cases of violation of technical regulations at sawmills, seizing 12 unregistered sawmills.
The Government is intensively working to curb the illegal activities done by individuals and it is working to promote the environment.
Last month, Georgian Wildlife Agency revealed that the country had begun the process of restoring floodplain forest in the Krtsanisi Forest Park, near Tbilisi, with the goal of converting the area into a “major recreational area”.
What is logging?
It is a process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a place for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.