Final boundaries have been marked for the creation of a new national park in western Georgia's Guria region for safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystems of local forests and promoting tourism in the area.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection said studies had been carried out since 2019 by the Tbilisi office of the World Wide Fund for Nature with the financial support of the Embassy of Sweden in order to define boundaries for the National Park.

Watch video about Guria National Park published by WWF Georgia and produced by EcoFilms.

The studies were run for Chokhatauri and Ozurgeti municipalities of the region to assess the “unique” natural resources and ecosystems, as well as the potential for tourism development of the project.

The bill on establishing the new park was presented to the public last week in a meeting attended by local authorities, residents, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders. 

Photo: Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture

Forested areas in Guria are recognised for environmental importance through their inclusion in the WWF’s Ecoregional Conservation Plan for the Caucasus, and are also considered a key biodiversity area of the region.

The project for the new national park sees participation from the Agency of Protected Areas - a part of the Ministry - as well as the WWF and the Swedish Embassy.

agenda.ge