Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia

Government of Georgia approves regulation on criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management

The respective document will help the state to assess the political, strategic and legislative framework for sustainable forest management. The document was positively evaluated by international and national experts, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Union's forestry programs.

Under the support of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) project "Integrated Biodiversity Management in the South Caucasus" (IBiS), in 2014, the development of national criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management was launched in Georgia.

At the initiative of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, in cooperation with the international experts, the document "Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management in Georgia" (C&I) was developed, which aims to create legal instruments for reporting on the state of the forest, quality and sustainability in forest management in Georgia;
 
Moreover, the respective document will ensure the implementation and assessment of Georgia's forest management, use, maintenance and protection in a way to preserve the forest biodiversity, productivity, renewable capacity, viability and relevant ecological, economic and social functions at local, national and global levels and, at the same time, will help to avoid the damage to other ecosystems.

Since 2014, under the frame of the reforms implemented in the forestry sector of Georgia, five principles of sustainable forest management have been agreed upon: ecological, economic, social, multifunctional and transparent. These principles provide a framework for improving political, strategic and management decision-making in the forest sector.