Georgia: The Employees of the Environmental Supervision Department of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture, from September 01 to September 30, 2025, identified 106 cases of illegal forest use.
Among them, 71 are related to illegal acquisition-transportation of trees, 35 are cases of violation of technical regulations by saw mills and illegal saw mills. 13 of the offenses contain signs of criminal offenses, and the materials were sent to the appropriate authorities for further response.
Protecting natural resources and preventing, identifying, and exposing facts about illegal use of forests is a priority for the department.
It is to be added that the Department of Environmental Supervision crews carry out continuous 24-hour patrolling throughout the country to prevent and detect illegal forestry, poaching, fishing, and other environmental violations promptly. In addition, an immediate response is given to each message received on the hotline (153) of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture.
As a result, in September this year, a number of violations of the law were revealed in different regions. The most – 32 facts were recorded in Adjara; 22 violations of law were reported in Imereti, in Kakheti – 10, Samtskhe-Javakheti – 10, Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti – 10, Racha-Lechkhumi-Lower Svaneti-8, in Lower Kartli – 7, Shida Kartli – 6, and in Guria – 1.
In total, more than 208 cubic meters of illegally obtained trees have been removed. At the same time, 5 units of unregistered saws have been sealed throughout the country.
Regarding annual statistics, in the nine months of the current year, department employees revealed 1221 cases of illegal forest use across the country. 52 illegal mining saws have been sealed.
In the framework of the fight against illegal forest use, the Department actively uses modern technologies. At the same time, the sanctions have been stricter. As a result of all these actions, in recent years, there has been a decrease in the frequency of illegal forest use.
