georgia: protecting forests
No other
country in the Caucasus is as richly
forested as Georgia. Forests are one of the
country’s most important natural resources,
covering about 40 percent of the land. The
Georgian forests are significant for their
unique species, and the ecological,
economic, recreational, land protection,
and water regulation functions of the
forests are of high importance.
Since 97% of Georgian forests are
located on mountainsides, forest
destruction causes huge economic and
environmental damage. The number of
environmental disasters, such as avalanches
and floods, has risen in those regions
where intensive illegal and uncontrolled
felling takes place. Illegal logging of
Georgian forests has been on the rise since
1991, mainly due to the country’s acute
energy crisis, which has spurred people to
fell trees for heating and fuel. Poachers
naturally target high quality trees, in
effect stealing the best individuals from
the forest gene pool and thus making proper
forest regeneration all the more difficult.
It doesn’t help that timber resources are
scarcer in neighbouring countries, making
the relatively plentiful and lower-priced
Georgian timber a lucrative export.
The Georgian government owns almost all
of the country’s forests, but only allots 1
million Georgian Lari, or US$500,000 of its
budget to forest management, a fraction of
what is needed to stop poaching and
over-logging. Instead of taking concrete
action to stop illegal logging, the
government is proposing to privatize the
forests and turn them over to corporate
hands. The decision is supported by a newly
created Forest Sector Development Center,
which is World Bank-funded and supported by
the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) and the International Monetary Fund
(IMF).
The Greens Movement of
Georgia/FoEGeorgia has actively campaigned
against illegal logging and timber export.
Along with other NGOs, scientists and the
Georgian Orthodox Church, they believe that
this World Bank-promoted ‘solution’ will
only accelerate the unsustainable logging
of Georgia’s forests. Instead, FoE-Georgia
proposes that the government retains
control and involves local communities in
preserving the forests for future
generations. They also propose
reestablishing the Church’s control over
forests that are located near important
churches, a practice that has previously
proven successful, and introducing modern
methods of sustainable forestry and forest
management.
more information
The Greens Movement of
Georgia/Friends of the Earth -
Georgia
