Samtskhe-Javakheti Regional Administration hosted discussions on the Concept Document for sustainable pasture management
The Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, in collaboration with local and international experts, has developed the “National Policy Concept Document for Sustainable Pasture Management”. The document aims at establishing a unified and coherent approaches to sustainable use of pastures and their protection.
Giorgi Misheladze, Chairman of the National Agency for Sustainable Land Management and Land Use Monitoring, Representatives of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia and the Regional Environmental Center of the Caucasus (REC Caucasus) discussed the main directions of the concept document with the State Representative of the Samtskhe-Javakheti Region and local self-government authorities.
The main novelty of the developed document is the determination of the status of rural pasture, winter and summer pasture by law. Also, the introduction of state and municipal pasture use regimes, which implies both common use and lease.
Based on the concept document, pastures will undergo identification, classification, zoning, and the determination of modes of use according to municipal management plans. A system of common use will be introduced for pastures near rural settlements. User associations will be established, and village pastures will be transferred to and managed by them. The remaining pastures will be available for leasing. The policy document will serve as the basis for the preparation of a legislative package. The meeting held in the city of Akhaltsikhe was attended by Shota Rostiashvili, the Deputy State Representative of Samtskhe-Javakheti region, and the mayors of the region's municipality.
The concept document of the “National Policy for Sustainable Pasture Management" was developed by national and international experts in coordination with the inter-agency working group formed within the framework of the project "Achieving Land Degradation Neutral Balance (LDN) National Goals through restoration and sustainable management of degraded pastures". The project is supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
