Donors support preserving biodiversity in Adjara
Tweet 
Share
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia are launching a new initiative to assist protected areas in the autonomous republic of Adjara in Georgia’s south-west.
The program, worth more than $1.3 million USD, is being funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UNDP.
The new initiative supported the expansion of Adjara’s protected areas, including the Kintrishi National Reserve, Mtirala National Park and the newly established Machakela National Park.
Environment Minister Khatuna Gogaladze and UNDP head in Georgia, Niels Scott, signed an agreement today that would note the beginning of the four-year program.
Scott believed the project would improve financial and administrative management of Adjara’s protected areas."It will assist local residents to take part in decision-making and benefit from the expansion of the national parks through new employment and business opportunities, raised incomes and improved livelihoods,” Scott said.
Machakhela valley is characterized by a unique variety of relict and endemic plants, where 10.8 hectares of the valley is covered by forests and 75 percent of the territory is virgin forests and is dominated by beech trees.
Around 200 species of vertebrates (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish) live in the Machakhela valley territory.
The program will also promote cooperation of
Machakela National Park; Photo by Caucasus Treasure;
the Adjara Protected Areas with the Jamili Biosphere Reserve in Turkey, which together form the unique Colchic Forests and create exceptional opportunities for environmental tourism.
Wildlife experts are celebrating after cameras caught rare footage of a roe deer in Georgia’s Adjara region.
Camera traps in Georgia’s national parks and protected areas are continuing to spot various wild animals in Georgia's uninhabited land.
Camera traps in Georgia’s national parks and protected areas are continuing to spot various wild animals in the country’s uninhabited land.
If you are tired of the hustle and bustle of the city, head to the Lagodekhi Protected Area in eastern Georgia’s Kakheti region, where you might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a beautiful deer.
A camera trap in one of Georgia’s protected areas has proven that roe deer are very photogenic animals. This curious roe deer was spotted at the Lagodekhi Protected Area in eastern Georgia earlier in May.
Four locations in Georgia’s west could become the first natural sites in the country to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, with the protected areas of Kolkheti, Mtirala, Kintrishi and Kobuleti nominated for the global roster through a collaboration of Georgian and foreign professionals.
A first-ever illustrated map of biodiversity across the South Caucasus region will be presented to the public at the Museum of Georgia this Saturday.
The Eurasan Otter, Nordman's Apollo butterfly and Colchian Sowbread flower are among the flora and fauna found across the South Caucasus and now discoverable on the first online map of the region's biodiversity.