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

print

share

Otar Shamugia: " We signed a Declaration of Cooperation with the US Department of the Interior for the first time in decades."

The US Department of the Interior, the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture, Culture and Monument Protection, and Economy and Sustainable Development signed a Declaration of Cooperation. The Declaration envisages strong collaboration between the two countries over the next ten years, with collaborative initiatives and activities in various areas such as environmental protection, cultural and natural heritage conservation, tourism, and ecotourism development.

The International Technical Assistance Program (USDOI-ITAP) of the United States Department of the Interior initiated the signing of the agreement between the American and Georgian parties.

During the meeting with US Department of Interior Secretary Mrs. Debra Haaland and US National Park Service representatives, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Mr. Otar Shamugia, emphasized the importance of the Declaration. 

As mentioned, the Declaration aims to increase collaboration between Georgia and the United States of America and provide a forum for sharing best practices and common challenges. Opportunities for future cooperation between Georgia and the United States of America in protected areas will seek to improve the management of protected areas.

" We are actively working to strengthen international support for protected areas, including sharing best practices and experience and ensuring financial assistance. The Protected Areas Agency and the National Park Service of the United States of America have many years of successful cooperation, which includes technical support, employee training, and study visit programs. Within the framework of the declaration, the existing ties will be further deepened, and there will be an opportunity to lay the foundation for many new initiatives.

We would also like to emphasize that our protected areas are managed according to best international practices; we are currently implementing several projects to develop ecotourism infrastructure to raise awareness of our protected areas on a global scale,  increase interest, and consequently increase the number of visitors.", said the Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture Minister, Mr. Otar Shamugia.
It should be noted that in 2022, the area of the protected areas of Georgia increased by 116.7 thousand hectares, currently covering more than 912 thousand hectares, which is about 13% of the country's territory.

The US Department of the Interior protects and manages natural resources and cultural heritage and provides access to scientific and other resource data. With the mandate given by President Joe Biden, the department actively works toward economic and ethnic equality and the fight against climate change.

The meeting at the US Department of the Interior was attended by the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Mr. Otar Shamugia; First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Mrs. Nino Tandilashvili; Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, Mr. Irakli Giviashvili, and Head of the Protected Areas Agency, Mr. Davit Iosebashvili.