Georgia: The Minister of Environment and Agriculture, Otar Shamugia, spoke to the media after the government meeting on this issue and noted that the aim of amendments to the Criminal and Administrative Offenses Codes prepared by the Ministry is to tighten the measures of liability measures for illegal use of timber.
The Minister said, “At the instruction of the Prime Minister, we prepared a draft law on amendments to the criminal and administrative offenses codes, which considers tightening the responsibility related to the illegal forest use.”
Minister of Environment and Agriculture Otar Shamugia said, ” First of all, I must mention that we have started a comprehensive reform in the forest sector based on adopting a new Forest Code. Today, up to 54 business yards operate in the forest agency, which supplies various categories of logical resources to the population. For the first time in the history of independent Georgia, we have completed the national census of forests.”
He stated, “Events of restoration and planting of forests are very actively underway. More than 4,000 hectares are already covered, and the process will continue in the coming years according to plan. Also, the capabilities of the Department of Environmental Supervision and the National Forestry Agency have been significantly strengthened. “
“However, illegal logging remains a challenge. These legislative changes were drafted, providing more brutal liability in areas such as unlawful acquisition of large quantities of timber, violation of saw mine registration, discovery of unmarked timber on saw mine territory, and illegal transportation of timber. We aim to prevent unlawful deforestation and think this bill will help. As the Prime Minister said, the bill will be sent to Parliament, and we hope for Parliament’s support,” said Otar Shamugia.
