Legislation on illegal logging and the transportation of timber has been tightened
Legislation related to illegal logging and timber transportation has been tightened.
The National Forestry Agency is responsible for almost 1.8 million hectares of forests. The agency’s priorities are the protection, care, and maintenance of these forests as well as sustainable forest use, which encompasses timber production.
“Different categories of forest degradation are being considered. There are many reasons; the first, unfortunately, is human activity everywhere, as well as climate change, the impact of which is already tangible and visible in our era. This includes the frequency of forest fires, as well as the spread of harmful diseases. Forests can mitigate the process of climate change and keep us in better conditions than in countries where forest areas are not large,” said Natia Iordanishvili, Deputy Head of the National Forestry Agency.
Natia Iordanishvili also spoke about the prevention of violations and the tightening of legislation on illegal logging, noting that legislative amendments were made to the Administrative Offenses Code of Georgia and the Criminal Code of Georgia. Before the amendments, a fine of 2,000 GEL was provided for the production and transportation of timber without appropriate documents in the first case, and 5,000 GEL in case of repetition. After the amendments, such a repeated action will be directly assessed as a criminal offense.
According to her, the Forestry Agency conducts maintenance and sanitary felling, which aims to improve the condition of the forest. An important rule applies to the extraction of economically usable timber resources: do not extract more than what will hinder and damage the renewal of this natural resource.
The National Forestry Agency is responsible for almost 1.8 million hectares of forests. The agency’s priorities are the protection, care, and maintenance of these forests as well as sustainable forest use, which encompasses timber production.
“Different categories of forest degradation are being considered. There are many reasons; the first, unfortunately, is human activity everywhere, as well as climate change, the impact of which is already tangible and visible in our era. This includes the frequency of forest fires, as well as the spread of harmful diseases. Forests can mitigate the process of climate change and keep us in better conditions than in countries where forest areas are not large,” said Natia Iordanishvili, Deputy Head of the National Forestry Agency.
Natia Iordanishvili also spoke about the prevention of violations and the tightening of legislation on illegal logging, noting that legislative amendments were made to the Administrative Offenses Code of Georgia and the Criminal Code of Georgia. Before the amendments, a fine of 2,000 GEL was provided for the production and transportation of timber without appropriate documents in the first case, and 5,000 GEL in case of repetition. After the amendments, such a repeated action will be directly assessed as a criminal offense.
According to her, the Forestry Agency conducts maintenance and sanitary felling, which aims to improve the condition of the forest. An important rule applies to the extraction of economically usable timber resources: do not extract more than what will hinder and damage the renewal of this natural resource.
