Particip, together with the EU TA Awareness Raising Project in Georgia

Particip, together with the EU TA Awareness Raising Project in Georgia, organised one of the largest public events on environment in the country: the Public Forum “Talking Environment” in Tbilisi on Sunday 5 May 2019.

The EU and Government of Georgia hosted the event and provided a platform for over 400 representatives of the general public, youth, civil society, local and international experts, international organizations, media and other stakeholders to engage in discussions on waste management issues in Georgia.

Among the key speakers of the Public Forum were: H.E. Carl Hartzell, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, Mr. Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Mr. Kakha Kuchava, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of Environment Protection and Natural resources of Georgia

 

Improving Environmental Reporting in Georgia

Series of workshops were organized for more than 50 representatives of regional and central media outlets, working on environmental, social and economic issues in December in Kakheti and Borjomi regions. Khatuna Gogaladze, Founder of the Georgia’s Environmental Outlook (GEO), in line with other local and international trainers delivered presentations aimed to increase the awareness on waste related issues, including national policy and legal framework, enforcement, sources of information, health and environment effects, fines, EPR new concept, etc; encourage media professionals to participate in the environmental activities; improve the quality and quantity of coverage of environmental/waste related issues; as well as in long-term perspective, enhance awareness among the general public, business and governmental circles on relevant issues. The two-day meetings were initiated within the framework of the project “Technical Assistance for awareness and communication to improve waste management practices in Georgia and the visibility of EU support to the sector”, being implemented in Georgia with the financial support of the European Union in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, LEPL Environmental Information and Education Center (EIEC).

EPR in Georga -Trends and Challenges

Georgia’s national obligations under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) were discussed at a stakeholders’ meeting attended by over 200 representatives of the central and local governments, international and donor organizations, private sector, chambers of commerce and business associations. The event was a joint effort of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia with the support of the European Union, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Sweden. Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach to waste management successfully implemented throughout Europe. Under this tool, the producers and importers take a responsibility for the proper collection and treatment of specific waste. The Waste Management Code of Georgia, which will be enacted from December 2019, introduces a concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for the following specific waste streams: packaging waste (plastic, paper/cardboard, wood, metal, glass), waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), end-of-the life tires (ELTs), end-of-the life vehicles (ELVs), used oils, used batteries and accumulators. Extended Producer Responsibility is a new concept for Georgia and its introduction requires a relevant legal framework and adequate awareness of the public and private sector.

Journalists, Researchers Join Hands for Climate Action

How can journalists and academic researchers contribute to Climate Action? What do we need to know about the UN Conventions on Biodiversity, Desertification and Climate Change, and how is Georgia doing in their implementation? All answers in a series of workshops rolled out by UNDP Georgia, Global Environment Facility and Georgia’s Environmental Outlook (GEO) on September 8-10, 2017.

Supporting Responsible Production and Consumption in Georgia

Sustainable waste management is in focus of a new initiative kicked off by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia and the Georgian non-governmental organization Georgia’s Environmental Outlook (GEO), with the support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Sweden.

International Sub-regional Conference

International sub-regional conference on Enhancing Strategic Environmental Assessment in selected countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia is taking place on November 2 – 6 in Kakheti, Georgia. The event aims to support legislative reforms of environmental assessment systems and build national capacities in implementing Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in the selected countries. More than 40 participants from 8 countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Moldova, Ukraine) and 10 international experts from the EU countries were brought together in Georgia to discuss various approaches to enhance their legal and institutional frameworks for the application of SEA. Mr. Gigla Agulashvili, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia and Ms. Maia Bitadze, Deputy Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia highlighted the important role of the SEA system for Georgia. They welcomed sharing of experience of Georgia and other countries on addressing challenges related to difficulties in understanding and procedures on screening, quality control and transboundary SEA procedures. “This experience will support our country and the ministry, in particular, in efficient development and adoption of relevant legislation as well as harmonisation of all processes with the Association Agreement,” – underlined the Minister. Ms. Elena Santer, UNECE secretariat representative encouraged Georgia to join the UNECE Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment that sets the framework for integration of environmental and health considerations into governmental plans and programmes. Moreover, she stressed that UNECE stands ready to continue supporting the participating countries in building their national SEA systems. International sub-regional conference was organized by the UNECE secretariat of the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary context (Espoo Convention) in the framework of the EU Programme ‘Greening Economies in the European neighbourhood’ (EaP GREEN). More information is available at https://geo.org.ge/www.unece.org/index.php?id=40656#/ The EaP GREEN programme is funded by the European Union and other donors, and is jointly implemented by the four partner organisations: OECD, UNEP, UNECE and UNIDO. The project partner in Georgia is Georgia’s Environmental Outlook GEO.

International ToT Workshop on SEA

International Training of Trainers Workshop on Design and Delivery of training events on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) was held in Lopota Resort, Kakheti, Georgia by UNECE secretariat of the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment (Protocol on SEA) to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context in the framework of the EU Programme ‘Greening Economies in the European neighbourhood’ (EaP GREEN). Project partner in Georgia was Georgia’s Environmental Outlook. More than 35 participants from 8 countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Moldova, Ukraine) learned how to prepare and carry out SEA training events at national and local levels. The participants of the workshop appreciated the opportunity to substantiate their knowledge about legal and practical implementation of SEA and to get hands on experience in various training techniques. At the end of the workshop, the participants indicated that they feel inspired and ready to further support the development of SEA systems in their countries by contributing to the development of the national legislative framework on SEA in line with the requirements of the UNECE Protocol on SEA and EU SEA Directive and by delivering subsequent training courses and awareness raising events for national stakeholders that are scheduled for 2016 in the framework of the EaP GREEN. The ToT was organised back-to-back to the sub-regional conference on ‘Developing legislative framework for the SEA in line with the UNECE Protocol on SEA,” which introduced the legal aspects related to the transposition of the requirements of the Protocol and EU SEA Directive into the national legislation. Ms. Elena Santer, UNECE representative, expressed her hope that the UNECE assistance funded by EU and other donors could enable the participating countries to join the Protocol on SEA in the near future.