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

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Otar Shamugia: "The research undertaken by the Swiss company with modern methodologies and approaches is crucial to get comprehensive information about the current processes on the glaciers."

Daniel Tobler, an expert from one of the leading international consulting Swiss companies -"GEOTEST AG", completed his working visit to Georgia and met with the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture to summarize the results and findings of his research.

The Minister thanked the representative of the international consulting Swiss company for the ongoing studies on 22 glacial valleys across the country and the research conducted during the Shovi disaster. 

 Mr. Shamugia emphasized that active cooperation with the Swiss side will continue.
"Climate change-related negative processes, including threats from melting glaciers, are challenges for Georgia and the rest of the globe; hence, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture continues to collaborate with one of the leading Swiss experts worldwide- investigating the glaciers in Georgia; the research is carried out with modern methods and approaches to get comprehensive information about the current processes on the glaciers. I would emphasize that any measure, be it monitoring, early warning system, alarm system, or other, should be based on detailed scientific studies; moreover,  specific measures will be implemented at certain locations based on the conclusions of the studies. It is crucial that highly qualified experts are involved in this process, and we jointly carry out the mentioned activities ", said Minister Shamugia.

During his visit, Daniel Tobler, along with Agency specialists and an independent expert, inspected the glacial valleys on the southern slopes of the Caucasus range from a helicopter.

The potential threats will be analyzed in detail and compared with the existing satellite material based on the aerial photographs taken by the expert, and future activities will be planned for adopting monitoring systems in the hotspots identified by the research.
During the meeting, Giorgi Gotsiridze, Director of the "GeoGraphic" company, emphasized the duration of the current process, noting that the Southern Slope of the Caucasus was fully evaluated within the current research.

"We went to Shovi, Devdoraki, and Leghziri, where we investigated and discovered various factors following the natural disaster; although we did not know the overall picture for the Caucasus till now,  the mentioned project revealed the whole picture, while the hazard map indicated how much work is still to be done in the future.
Against the backdrop of this general picture, against the backdrop of the detection of active points, it is already possible to plan better monitoring, notification, early warning, and various systems and, most importantly, to plan resources as no country has ever had the financial resources for specific threats and risk management ", said Giorgi Gotsadze. 

Daniel Tobler, an expert of Swiss consulting company "GEOTEST AG", focused on further activities.
We possess information about current processes and locations; we know who and where to start; once begun, we will identify the hot spots and the most critical locations; therefore, the initial step involves a detailed inspection of the critical areas, identifying potential scenarios, actively engaging in on-site processes, and then defining simulations to study and prepare for these scenarios.

Subsequently, a monitoring system should be established, integrating hazard management practices with a clearly defined hazard management plan, which will take one or two years; however,  we have places in Switzerland that took three years for an in-depth evaluation of these locations," said Daniel Tobler.
While speaking about the duration of the mentioned process, he also noted that there are still such risk zones where the population lives in Switzerland, and it is extremely tough to act promptly in a short time since warning systems are less effective in these cases. 

 It is worth mentioning that this year, the National Environmental Agency signed an agreement with the company "GEOTEST AG" to conduct research in 22 glacial valleys across the country. Within the next two months, the Swiss consulting company will identify ‘’specific’’ potential glacial dangers and their hotspots, followed by relevant recommendations to address these concerns and submit the final document to the Agency.

The First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Mrs. Nino Tandilashvili, the Head of the National Environmental Agency, Mr. Vasil Gedevanishvili, and representatives of the National Environmental Agency attended the meeting held in the Ministry.