A project initiated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia — “Achieving National Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Targets through the Restoration and Sustainable Management of Degraded Pastures” — was concluded with a final summary event.
Launched in 2020, the project aimed both to establish a national policy and institutional framework and to demonstrate practical examples of restoring degraded pastures.
The closing event was opened online by Lasha Dolidze, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia. He positively assessed the work carried out within the framework of the project and noted that it creates a strong foundation for pasture restoration and sustainable management.
Giorgi Misheladze, Chairman of the National Agency for Sustainable Land Management and Land Use Monitoring, spoke about the first stage of pasture management reform—pasture inventory and assessment—as a basis for informed decision-making. He emphasized the importance of data-driven management, noting that both quantitative and qualitative assessment of pastures is essential for reducing degradation and ensuring long-term sustainable development.
Within the framework of the project, for the first time in Georgia, a unified national policy on pasture management was developed along with the relevant legislative and institutional framework. Pasture inventory and assessment were carried out in pilot municipalities—Dmanisi, Gurjaani, and Kazbegi. Modern approaches to land degradation monitoring were also developed. In pilot villages, pasture user community associations were established and strengthened to enable joint and coordinated pasture management. In addition, a modern, controlled grazing system with the necessary infrastructure was implemented across 530 hectares.
The project was implemented with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus (REC Caucasus).
