Challenges of Windbreak Management Discussed at the Georgian Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Giorgi Misheladze, Chairman of the National Agency for Sustainable Land Management and Land Use Monitoring, addressed the challenges related to the process of windbreak management at a meeting of the Agrarian Innovations Commission under the Presidium of the Academy. The meeting was chaired by Aleksandre Didebulidze, an academician of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
The inventory of windbreaks is a systematic process, the goal of which is to collect comprehensive information about existing windbreaks across the country, which creates the basis for their effective management, protection, restoration and development.
The main challenges of the inventory process include the presence of various structures, perennial crops, and infrastructure facilities on the territory of windbreaks. Other challenges include overlaps with state forest lands and instances of windbreak land plots being registered under private ownership.
Giorgi Micheladze highlighted the facts of felling, uprooting, and damage to the territory in windbreaks and noted that according to data from 2023-2026, within the framework of land use monitoring in 19 cadastral codes in various municipalities, 67 cases of destruction of trees and plants and more than 1 ha of land damage were identified.
The Chairman of the Agency discussed issues related to the restoration and cultivation of windbreaks. This includes financial matters, high risks of damage from livestock and fires, a scarcity of irrigation water resources, shortage of locally produced nursery materials, etc. Giorgi Misheladze noted that the restoration and cultivation program is currently being modernized to address these existing challenges.
Commission members noted that since soil fertility and the economic indicators of major agricultural crop yields depend heavily on the existence of windbreaks, their maintenance, protection, and restoration are of vital importance. At the end of the meeting, the commission members developed relevant recommendations for submission to the government.
