News
The elaboration of the Fourth National Environmental Action Program (NEAP) of Georgia 2022-2026 to discuss at the wrap-up meeting
Under the support of the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture has organized the working meeting, aiming to take into account certain remarks and opinions regarding Fourth National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) of Georgia 2022-2026.
The respective document is part of the obligations underlined in the EU-Georgia Association Agreement and aims at improving the state of the environment and environmental governance in the country.
The opening remarks were delivered by the First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Mr. George Khanishvili, and the Deputy Minister, Mrs. Nino Tandilashvili, who expressed gratitude to the UNDP and the World Bank for their support, and thanked the Ministry's specialists and independent experts for their active involvement in the respective process.
"The elaboration process embraced the greatest possible transparency. The active engagement of the public in the elaboration of similar strategic documents, as well as involvement in the environmental decision-making process is particularly important. Therefore, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture reviewed and discussed the NEAP document as transparently as possible, with the participation of all stakeholders and in compliance with the law.
During the public discussion, we scrutinized the remarks and comments of the parties together with the representatives of the sectoral departments of the Ministry, including the experts involved in the process. Ultimately, some remarks and comments were taken into account and reflected in the final document, ”said Mrs. Nino Tandilashvili.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture started working on the environmental protection document - the Fourth National Environmental Action Program - last year.
The Fourth NEAP defines the priority directions in the environmental protection field for the period of 2022-2026; Structural units of the Ministry, subordinate agencies, as well as the Ministries of Economy and Sustainable Development and Regional Development and Infrastructure and their subordinate agencies, independent experts and specialists were involved in the preparation process. The first version of the document was developed and thematic public hearings were held.
In 2022, 9 public hearings were held in total. All interested persons, entailing representatives of non-governmental organizations and citizens' groups had the opportunity to participate in the discussions and express their opinions / make remarks, some of which were reflected in the final document, which will be submitted to the Government of Georgia for approval.