Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, meets with the management of the National Agency for Sustainable Land Management and Land Use Monitoring
The Minister received a briefing on the Agency's activities for the current year and discussed plans for 2022. Currently, the agency is focused on identifying information sources and comparing data to compile a land balance. This includes determining and requesting information stored across various agencies, consolidating this information, and developing management mechanisms.
The agency is also engaged in establishing a land information system, which involves generating data on land use and land cover, including satellite monitoring.
At the meeting, attention was given to the government-approved programs currently being implemented by the agency, namely: the "State Program of Windbreak (Field Protection) Strips Inventory" and the "State Program of Access to State-Owned Pastures.”
As part of the windbreak inventory program, data retrieval and study have been conducted. According to the information obtained, as of January 1, 2004, the estimated area of the windbreak (field protection) zone registered in Georgia was 11,500 hectares. Currently, a pilot project is underway in Telavi municipality, consisting of 213 plots totaling 430 hectares.
For the "State Program of Access to State-Owned Pastures," efforts have been made to request information from the National Agency of Public Registry and process it programmatically. State-owned pasture lands have been identified, amounting to 3,880 plots covering 124,953 hectares. State-owned pasture land plots, each exceeding 1 hectare and provided for by the program, comprise 2,348 plots with a combined area of 93,616 hectares. To disseminate detailed information about the program, an information campaign is planned nationwide. Currently, the campaign is active in the Kakheti and Samtskhe-Javakheti regions. So far, 7 meetings have been held, attended by approximately 400 interested individuals.
During the meeting with the Minister, detailed discussions were held regarding the preparation of a package of legislative amendments and subordinate normative acts. This initiative aims to delegate sectoral powers in the field of governance to the Agency, facilitating sustainable management of agricultural land resources. Additionally, the discussion also covered the upcoming enactment of the Law of Georgia on “Windbreak (Field Protection) Strips,” scheduled for November 20, 2021. The agency's relationships with donors were also a focal point of the discussion, emphasizing the steps being taken to strengthen the agency's capabilities.
