Georgia will receive a $16,250,000 grant from the German state development bank KfW over the next six years to create and develop protected areas in the country, the Environment Ministry announced on Sunday. 

Improvements to efficiency of management and biodiversity monitoring and qualification of staff, conservation efforts and development of ecotourism are among the goals of the grant, with Environment Minister Otar Shamugia saying the Government planned to establish new protected areas and increase the existing ones by 100,000 hectares, while also noting expansion of protected areas in the country by about 300,000 hectares to date.

• German KfW offers €24 mln grant for biodiversity and sustainable development in Georgia

Signed between David Iosebashvili, the Head of Georgian Agency of Protected Areas, and Frank Mörschel, the Environmental Portfolio Manager of the KfW in Georgia, the grant agreement comes within the Biodiversity and Sustainable Local Development - Georgia project.

The latter was launched last year with a total grant of €24 million, to be allocated to the Agency of Protected Areas and the Forestry Agency of the western Adjara region.

Operating in Georgia since 1993, the German bank supports projects in the energy sector, the promotion of sustainable urban development, the protection of the environment and natural resources and vocational training in the country.