The Environmental Supervision Department of Georgia on Monday announced incoming restrictions on extraction of boxwood trees.
Making the public service announcement ahead of the Palm Sunday religious holidays, in which boxwood plays a symbolic part for parishioners, the Department said its crews would place areas where illegal extraction and sale of the trees had been high in recent years under “particular monitoring”.
The Colchian boxwood tree is an endangered species on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature - a system for classifying species at high risk of global extinction.
Destruction or cutting of the tree’s branches is punishable by law in Georgia, with individuals fined between ₾500-1000 ($196.1-392.2) for their destruction. In cases where damage exceeds ₾1000, legal proceedings can also be launched.
The Department also said those marking the religious holiday could instead purchase the trees at private nurseries and artificially cultivated plantations operating using certificates of origin issued by local self-government bodies.