News
The Parliament of Georgia has approved an Amendment to the Draft Law on the Establishment and Management of the Borjomi-Kharagauli Protected Areas.
Mrs. Nino Tandilashvili, the First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, submitted the amendment to the draft law on the establishment and management of the Borjomi-Kharagauli Protected Areas to the Parliament of Georgia. The amendment is driven by the urgent need to protect the natural environment and preserve the forest ecosystem.
The forest pathology study was conducted in the territory of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park and State Reserve, which revealed a severe sanitary condition of the coniferous forests. Specifically, in certain sections of the Borjomi State Reserve, mass drying of pine and spruce trees was observed, caused by the combined effects of pests, fungal diseases, and climate change.
According to the monitoring carried out by the Protected Areas Agency this year, over 30% of the forest massifs are already damaged and undergoing drying.
Notably, the wildfire that occurred in this area in 2022 significantly worsened the ecosystem’s resilience and expanded the range of the disease spread.
The danger posed by the continuation of this process is twofold: it threatens to disrupt the ecological balance within the reserve’s territory and to cause widespread disease proliferation, as well as to increase the risk of natural disasters, including wildfires.
Under the current legislation, active management is prohibited in the State Reserve, meaning that forest restoration and pest control cannot be conducted in territories of this category. Therefore, to enable timely response and ecosystem protection, the draft law proposes changing the status of 283 hectares within the Borjomi State Reserve to that of a National Park.
This decision will grant the Agency the authority to carry out active and targeted management aimed at forest protection and restoration.
It is also essential to mention that the draft law includes the addition of ecologically crucial, pristine areas under the status of State Reserve.
Specifically, 302 hectares of untouched territory within the Borjomi section of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, adjacent to the State Reserve- will be granted Reserve status. This will further ensure the protection of ecological balance and the conservation of biodiversity.
This amendment represents a necessary step for the sustainable management of the Borjomi-Kharagauli Protected Areas and the preservation of their unique natural environment.
In terms of forest care and restoration, systematic research and monitoring of the forest’s pathological condition are regularly conducted in the protected areas, both through direct observation and the use of pheromone traps. The mentioned measures aim to ensure the protection and sustainable management of forest ecosystems within the protected territories.