The Akhaltsikhe municipality is now implementing the approaches outlined in the national policy for sustainable pasture management
During a working meeting held in Akhaltsikhe Municipality the parties discussed the core principles outlined in the concept document of the "National Policy for Sustainable Pasture Management" and the objectives related to the introduction of novel approaches within the concept. The meeting was attended by Giorgi Misheladze, Chairman of the National Agency for Sustainable Land Management and Land Use Monitoring, Sofo Akhobadze, Director of the Caucasus Regional Environmental Center (REC Caucasus), and Irakli Lazarashvili, the Mayor of Akhaltsikhe Municipality, along with representatives from the municipality's villages.
To establish a sustainable pasture management system, the initial phase involves several key steps. Firstly, it will entail assessing the current extent of pastures in Georgia, evaluating degradation trends, and identifying meadowlands. Additionally, this phase will include the zoning of pastures into categories such as village pastures, winter pastures, near and distant summer pastures, along with the preparation of relevant zoning maps. Based on the zoning, some pastures will be available for common use by villagers and some pastures will be available for lease.
To achieve the aforementioned goals, several locations within the municipality were selected for on-site inspections of land plots previously categorized as pasture in the old land use plans. These inspections involved on-site evaluation of those pasture plots and assessment of various indicators.
The concept document of the national policy for sustainable pastures management was developed within the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia with the involvement of Georgian and international experts in order to establish a unified and consistent approach to the sustainable use of pastures and their protection. New approaches should ensure the prevention of land degradation on pastures and the preservation of biodiversity.
