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

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Otar Shamugia: " National park will be established on approximately 50,800 hectares in Oni Municipality, Racha region"

The Government of Georgia has approved the Draft Law of Georgia on the establishment of protected areas in the region of Racha.

"This is the most important decision. The national park will be established in the Oni Municipality, Racha region,  which will cover 50,800 hectares.  This is a new opportunity for the region. First and foremost, we should protect and take care of our unique nature and biodiversity, and at the same time, it is the possibility to promote the development of relevant ecotourism services, employment of local residents, increase income, and promote business growth in the region.

The creation of protected areas in Racha is crucial in the sense that we have made a certain commitment to our partners, and donors. Therefore, we are committed to fulfilling our obligation by making the respective decision.

The German Development Bank ( KFW ), and the Caucasus Nature Fund provided grant funding for the development of our protected areas. It should be mentioned, that a portion of the funds will be used for the development of the protected areas in the Racha region, entailing costs for the arrangement of the relevant administration, equipment, and costs further services. I believe, that all of the aforementioned are crucial for the region. I would like to mention, that we are the Government, which actively follows this course, and we create new protected areas every year," Mr. Otar Shamugia said. 

According to the Minister, currently, the protected areas cover approximately 800,000 hectares in the country. In accordance with the decision made by the Government of Georgia and the Draft Laws submitted to the Parliament, the area of protected areas will be increased by approximately 100,000 hectares this year.