Forests

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Environment

Watchdogs: Georgian Forest Fund lost 500 square kilometers in 5 years

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

A new report from a coalition of environmental and rights groups casts doubt on Georgia’s recent commitment to sustainable forest management. In a joint press conference on 26 November, the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN), Human Rights Centre, and the Green Movement of Georgia have reported that the Georgian Forest Fund has lost 500 km² of forested territory over the last five years. The area is equal to more than half of the size of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, the large

The Manglisi Holy Dormition Cathedral. Photo: Robin Fabbro/OC Media

2020 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Georgian parliament paves the way for swathes of forestland to be handed to Orthodox Church

by OC Media

•3 min read

Georgia’s parliament has passed a law allowing the Georgian Orthodox Church to claim hundreds of hectares of state-owned forests around churches and monasteries across the country. Seventy-nine MPs voted in favour of the bill and none against in a plenary session on Friday. The law will allow the Church to claim up to 20 hectares of land owned by the state Forest Fund, the equivalent of around 28 football fields, around every church and monastery in the country. The Church will be granted

Armenia

Fire and logging threaten Armenia’s forests

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•5 min read

Despite a ban, industrial and small scale logging for firewood is still relatively commonplace, as it’s a more affordable than gas, and fires continue to ravage vast tracts of in Armenia’s forests. A number of local and international organisations are trying to fight back, to protect and restore Armenia’s forests. [Read in Armenian — Հոդվածը հայերեն կարդացեք] ‘Best case scenario, two-thirds of our forests remain’ Samvel Sarukhanyan, 67, lives in the village of Dovegh, bordering Azerbai