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First time ever in the history of Georgia, two protected areas have been granted the biosphere reserve status. UNESCO has approved the nomination submitted by the Government of Georgia without any comments or suggestions
UNESCO has recognized "Dedoplistskaro Biosphere Reserve" (Dedoplistskaro) and "Sami Alazani Biosphere Reserve" (Tusheti) and included them in the international list of biosphere reserves.
The decision was adopted within the framework of the UNESCO's Programme on ‘’Man and the Biosphere’’ (MAB) during the 34th session of the International Coordination Council.
The UNESCO Secretariat of the Programme ‘’Man and the Biosphere’’ (MAB) approved the nomination submitted by the Government of Georgia without any comments or suggestions.
It should be mentioned, that to this day, none of the territories in the South Caucasus region has the status of a biosphere reserve.’’Dedoplistskaro Biosphere Reserve’’and ‘’Three Alazani Biosphere Reserves’’ are the first precedents across the region.
Mrs. Nino Tandilashvili, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, and Mrs. Tamar Khakhishvili, Deputy Chairman of the Agency of Protected Areas attended the meeting in Paris.
A biosphere reserve is a mechanism used as common practice for the conservation of nature and sustainable land use. The biosphere reserve contributes to sustainable regional development and conservation of biodiversity, it also plays an important role in the climate change adaption and mitigation.
The interest and demand for producing organic products are growing, which is directly related to sustainable economic development. Considering all of the aforementioned, the creation of a biosphere reserve provides a great opportunity to increase economic /tourism potential in the country.
Since 2015, the potential for the establishment and development of a biosphere reserve in Georgia has been thoroughly studied, to this end, Kakheti region was identified as a key priority area, which is the best fit for the development of the biosphere reserve.
Nominations were reopened for submission to UNESCO with the financial support of the German Government, the Zukov Foundation, GIZ and the European Union, in cooperation with the Regional Environmental Center for Caucasus (REC Caucasus). In December 2021, on behalf of the Government of Georgia, all documents were submitted to the UNESCO Secretariat for ‘the ’Man and the Biosphere’’ Program for the nomination of “Three Alazani Biosphere Reserve” in Akhmeta and Telavi municipalities and “Dedoplistskaro Biosphere Reserve” in Dedoplistskaro Municipality.