Forest recovers after 2008 war

An area of natural forest in Eastern Georgia’s Borjomi region has been brought back to life after being engulfed in flames and suffering major burn damage when it was bombed in the August 2008 war.

Since then Georgia’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Recourses has spared no effort to return the forest to its former glory.

Minister Elguja Khokrishvili said almost 78 hectares of forest in the Borjomi area, that was burned and destroyed during the Russia-Georgia war in August 2008, has been brought back to life.

The Ministry presented a report yesterday that summed up the achievements of the Ministryof the past two years, which included its efforts to restore the burned forest.

Khokrishvili noted during this time, 16 natural monuments were created and visitors’ centres and administrative buildings of protected areas have been rehabilitated. She also emphasized that in 2014, two new protected areas were established and new services of ecotourism were introduced in Georgia.

Thanks to the Ministry’s efforts, the number of visitors to Georgia increased by almost half a million in two years. Latest report said in 2012, 688,288 people visited territories of Georgia’s protected areas, while in 2014 this had increased up to 1,253,445 guests.

In terms of the future, the Minister said work had already begun on the Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.