Posted on March, 09 2015

WWF-Caucasus Programme Office is implementing “European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) East Countries Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) II Program”. One of the activities to be implemented by WWF in Georgia under this Program (with the support of Austrian Development Agency, ADA), is supporting the restoration of sub-alpine forests in Ajara. Sub-alpine forests are especially vulnerable in Georgia, as they are under pressure from unsustainable logging and grazing. As a result, they urgently need restoration. The restoration measures envisage promotion of natural regeneration of the degraded forests by means of fencing (to protect from cattle grazing).
WWF-Caucasus will purchase wooden poles and barbed wire, as well as tools and equipment to support fencing and contribution to natural regeneration of the forests. The materials and equipment will be transferred for the Forestry Agency of Ajara, which will conduct respective works. Forest restoration (through fencing) will be conducted in Khulo Municipality, near villages Tabakhmela and Bodzauri, on approximately 100 ha of area. The activities will be implemented during the spring and summer of 2015.
During the initial stage of the implementation of FLEG II Program, this activity was rated as category B (meaning moderate impact, might generate indirect and/or cumulative negative impacts on the socio-economic conditions of the local population). As a result, special measures have been designed to avoid these negative impacts. These measures are described in the attached ToR (in English and Georgian).