The City Hall of Rustavi, a city south-east of capital Tbilisi, will team up with the Council of Europe for a joint project on developing a floodplain forest for a location in the urban area, under a project described as “one of the most important” for improving the environmental conditions of the industrial location.
A meeting of the local Citizen Assembly discussed the project on Tuesday, the Rustavi City Hall said, with Mayor Nino Latsabidze saying involvement of residents in the decision-making for the final plan for the sustainable development of the forest was “essential”.
Koba Dzlierishvili, the Head of the Architecture Service of the City Hall, said “active work” on the development strategy had been going on for a year with experts in the field, noting it was “crucial” to see citizen participation.
Because of the “exceptionally poor” ecological condition of the area designated for the forest plan, the topic became “extremely significant” for the city, Dzlierishvili added.
The City Hall also said the strategy would be developed over the period of three days and with involvement of experts and the Citizen Assembly.