The FINANCIAL — Two forestry reports supported by the EU-funded Forest Law Enforcement and Governance Program (FLEG II) in Georgia are now being used by the country’s authorities to develop a plan on addressing and eradicating pests and diseases in the country’s forests.
The studies were conducted upon request from the National Forestry Agency of Georgia and, according to the country representative, they revealed ‘a great amount of information which is indispensable to proceed with the next steps’ needed to protect forestry resources in the country, FLEG II reports.
The reports entitled ‘Assessment of Forest Pests and Diseases in Protected Areas of Georgia’ and ‘Assessment of Forest Pests and Diseases in Native Boxwood Forests of Georgia’ provided a solid foundation for a national plan to stamp out forest pests and diseases, FLEG II said. The plan will outline specific activities to be implemented in 2016-17 to eradicate invasive species threatening forest ecosystems in the country.
The EUR 9 million FLEG II programme aims to improve forest law enforcement in seven countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. It also helps ensuring the contribution of the region’s forests to climate change adaptation and mitigation, to ecosystems and biodiversity protection, and to sustainable livelihoods and income sources for local populations and national economies. FLEG II carries out pilot projects and addresses forest fire and climate issues, building upon the achievements of its predecessor, the FLEG I programme, according to EU Neighbourhood Info.
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