Georgian ministries, US Interior Department sign deal for Georgia’s protected areas
Georgia’s Environment Ministry cited Minister Otar Shamugia, who signed the agreement alongside the US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, as saying his office was working to “strengthen international support for protected areas” in the country. Photo: Ministry of Agriculture
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Protected natural areas across Georgia will benefit from a new 10-year deal between the country’s ministries of environment, culture and economy on the one side, and the United States Department of the Interior on the other, with the cooperation aimed at protecting the environment, safeguarding cultural and natural heritage and developing tourism.
Signed at the US body on Thursday, the agreement involves technical support, employee training and study visits between the countries in a bid to enhance management of protected areas.
Georgia’s Environment Ministry cited Minister Otar Shamugia, who signed the agreement alongside the US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, as saying his office was working to “strengthen international support for protected areas” in the country.
He added the agreements being worked on involved both experience-sharing and financial support, and pointed out the Ministry was putting an effort into promoting the managed natural locations across the country and developing ecotourism infrastructure for attracting more visitors.
The Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia announced the winners of the “Clean Region” 2022 contest, which aims to promote public involvement in cleaning activities, the Ministry said on Saturday.
Georgian Minister of Environmental Protection Otar Shamugia and Raimund Jehle of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations on Thursday signed a new project to support the low-emission and climate resilient development of the country’s agriculture sector.
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.
Georgian Agriculture Minister Otar Shamugia on Thursday told the country’s Parliament the rate of agribusiness production had grown by 112 percent over the past 10 years, with a 14 percent growth marked in 2022 figures compared to the previous year.
Georgia and its people, as a “proud and freedom-loving nation”, share the same values and principles of freedom and democracy that “form the foundation of the enduring friendship” with the United States, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Thursday at the official reception held at the US Embassy in Tbilisi on the occasion of the Declaration of Independence of the USA.