Tbilisi: The Georgian Minister of Environment and Agriculture, Otar Shamugia met Frank Morschel, environmental portfolio manager of the German Bank for Reconstruction and Development (KfW) of Georgia.
 At the meeting, the parties discussed the issues “biodiversity and sustainable local development” under the grant agreement between the Agency of Georgia and the Credit Bank of Germany for Reconstruction and Development.
“I would like to thank the representatives of the German Bank for Reconstruction and Development (KfW) for the support they have given to the Protected Areas Agency for years.” The grant agreement “Biodiversity and Sustainable Local Development” for six years is envisaged to promote the establishment of new protected areas and develop existing ones, to improve the effectiveness of protected areas management.Â
High attention will be given to improving biodiversity monitoring and ensuring conservation. It is very important that research in Samegrelo and Upper Svaneti with a grant from German partners will be planned, which will be the basis for the establishment of protected areas in these regions.
 In the near future, the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture will present a bill to Parliament regarding the establishment of protected areas in Guria,” Otar Shamugia said.
 As the minister noted, in recent years, the area of protected areas has increased significantly and it constitutes 13% of the total area of the country. State policy in this direction will continue actively in the future.
 According to Frank Morschel, the German Bank for Reconstruction and Development (KfW) has many years of successful cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture and the Protected Areas Agency.
 The manager of the environmental portfolio of Bank (KfW) expressed his readiness to actively support the Georgian side in the future in the development of new protected areas.
 Grant contract “Biodiversity and Sustainable Local Development” was signed in 2022. The cost of the project is 16 245 625 euros. Newly established Racha, Shida Kartli and Kvereti protected areas are selected as target areas. All three of them will build visitor centers, tourist walkways, rangers.
