Forest management planning has improved in Georgia
One of the essential issues that the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Otar Shamugia, focused on in his speech is the forest inventory, which started in the country in 2014 and at this stage covers about 360 thousand hectares.
"Inventory is the basis for full-fledged forest use planning. In 2018-2021, the Ministry conducted the first national forest inventory in Georgia, which will provide accurate statistical information about the forests of Georgia. At the time, the forest inventory has been carried out on about 21% of the Georgian forests; our goal is to complete the inventory of Georgian forests by 2026, "- said Otar Shamugia. It is significant that on the inventory works are employed young forest taxators trained by the specialists of the Forestry Agency. It is noteworthy that since 2017, the professional training of forestry specialists has been restored; as a result, 156 people have mastered the forestry profession, 80% of whom have been employed in the specialty.
Otar Shamugia also spoke about the unprecedented international financial support in 2021 that will be spent on the practical implementation of forest sector reform.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has allocated 33 million Euros to Georgia, which will contribute to the establishment of proper forest management in 3 regions (Kakheti, Guria, and Mtskheta-Mtianeti), improvement of socio-economic conditions of the population, and rational use of timber resources.
