The members of the coordination group for the development of the national pasture management policy document, representatives of ministries and parliamentary committees approved the concept of the national policy of sustainable pasture management and agreed with the main principles and approaches presented.
“Pastures are the national treasure of the country. The country has launched a very important reform that should be based on local needs and best international practices,” says Mr. Gela Khanishvili, First Deputy Minister of Environment and Agriculture.
“Active involvement of municipalities is a necessary prerequisite for developing effective pasture management policy and legislation,” said Mr. Davit Songhulashvili, the chairman of the sectoral economy and economic policy committee of the parliament and the majority deputy of Gurjaani, Sighnaghi, Dedoplistskaro and Sagarejo.
In the process of developing the concept of the national policy of sustainable management of pastures, the existing approaches to pasture management in the high mountain regions of European countries (France, Switzerland) were taken into account. The concept is based on a complex (integrated) approach, which considers issues of sustainable use and protection of pastures together with issues of development of the livestock sector. In addition, the policy highlights pastures that are considered as part of natural and semi-natural ecosystems, which are used by different socio-economic categories of farmers, who have different priorities and goals in terms of livestock development. The document also considers the issues of integrated management of summer and winter pastures and traditional nomadism. This document of the national policy of sustainable management of pastures will be the basis for the preparation of the relevant legislative package in the field of pasture management.
The National Pasturelands Management Policy Document has been prepared within the framework of the project ” Achieving Land Degradation Neutrality Targets of Georgia through Restoration and Sustainable Management of Degraded Pasturelands“. The project is initiated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia and financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It is implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and executed by the Regional Environmental Center for the Caucasus (REC Caucasus). The project partner is the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN).
