News
Minister’s Hour’’ Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Levan Davitashvili presents a report at the hearing session, Parliament of Georgia
In 2018, for the first time in Georgia, a large scale survey was conducted to determine the concentration of lead in the air in Tbilisi.
Surveys were conducted on 65 locations, including schools and gardens, according to the studies, the concentration of lead did not exceed the permissible norms. In 2018 the laboratory of atmospheric air, soil and water analysis equipped with modern standards was opened.
In 2018, the first automated mobile power station has been launched, which enables to test air quality in Tbilisi and in the regions as well.
In February 2019, the European automatic weather station was launched in Rustavi, a similar station will be launched in Kaspi in the near future and in April it will be opened in Tbilisi. With the support of the Government of Italy, another 5 new European automatic weather stations will be added to the country's monitoring network in 2019-2020.
In addition, in 2018, due to the high level of interest of the population, the state control to monitor lead content in gasoline was activated. In 2018, up to 250 fuel samples were taken from 143 petrol stations to inspect. The laboratory survey was conducted by the Swiss company (SGS). Although the lead content wasn’t detected in any of these samples.
New portal http://air.gov.ge/ is created by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, which provides access to full information about air quality and monitoring, supports e-governance and planning of measures to improve air quality, furthermore, the portal promotes public participation in the decision-making and policy planning processes.
● The scope of measurement on air pollutants is expanding
In order to determine the compliance of the atmospheric air to the new standard, the monitoring of arsenic, cadmium and nickel content in the air will be started this year.
The modern equipment is already in Georgia to analyze the levels of asbestos fibres in ambient air and other objects.
"In the nearest future our laboratory will start to monitor asbestos fibers in atmospheric air as well as the study of materials where Asbestos can be used," said Levan Davitashvili.
• From January 1, 2019, the diesel quality is in line with Euro 4 standard. From January 1, 2020, diesel fuel quality will rise to Euro 5. Legislative amendments will be made in 2019 to introduce European standards of air quality management and to make air pollution sanctions stricter.
”For the purpose of introducing the European principles of atmospheric air quality management and fulfilling the requirements of the Association Agreement between Georgia and the European Union, fundamental changes will be made to the Law of Georgia on Atmospheric Air Protection”
Sanctions on air pollution will be significantly increased. The existing penalties are so small that that there is much evidence to show that it has virtually no deterrent effect.
• From April 1, 2019, any thickness of plastic bags will be banned, which will be replaced by biodegradable bags - said the Minister in his speech within the "Minister's Hour’’.
According to him, in 2019 the laboratory will be opened, which will determine composting and biodegradation of plastic bags. Production, sale and import of plastic bags less than 15 micron is banned from October 1, 2018. The Minister also stressed the importance of implementation of the extended producer responsibility, which will start from December 1, 2019.
" Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach under which producers are given a significant responsibility – financial and/or physical – for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products or waste to minimize environmental impacts" said Levan Davitashvili.
Specific reserves include: waste packaging material (plastics, paper / paperboard, wood, metal, glass), residual electrical and electronic equipment, tires removed from the use, used vehicles, oils, batteries and accumulators.
• At the Plenary Sitting in the Parliament of Georgia, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Levan Davitashvili underlined the importance of the development of Georgia’s Protected Areas.
According to the Minister, the Agency of Protected Areas prioritizes the protection and maintenance of biodiversity and development of ecotourism in the country.
According to the Minister, the area of protected areas will be increased up to 190,000 hectares. It is also important, that for the first time, the protected areas are nominated for UNESCO World Heritage List. In 2018, the Agency of Protected Areas became a member of the Federation of European Parks.
"It is important to develop and promote ecotourism in the protected areas, in 2019, the Ministry will implement important projects" said Levan Davitashvili. In 2018, the number of visitors to the protected areas is increased by 16%, while the number of revenues received from services increased by 87%. Revenues will be spent on conservation activities and for the development of ecotourism infrastructure.
The project design for educational and informational center in Rike Park will come to a completion.
In 2019, new eco-tourism infrastructure will be opened for visitors, which will facilitate to increase the number of tourists in the region. According to the research, the revenue brought by the 5 protected areas amounted to 87 000 000 GEL.