News
The Department of Environmental Supervision Identified Illegal Sawmills in Adjara and Imereti
Employees of the Adjara and Guria Regional Division, as well as the Western Regional Division of the Department of Environmental Supervision under the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, identified violations in the municipalities of Shuakhevi and Kharagauli.
In the villages of Shubani and Tomasheti, citizens had installed band sawmill equipment on unregistered land plots.
In the village of Gedsamania, a citizen had installed an unregistered band sawmill in the yard of a residential property.
Since all three cases contain elements of a criminal offense, the relevant materials were forwarded to the appropriate authorities for further action.
Protection of natural resources and the prevention of environmental violations are priorities for the Department of Environmental Supervision. To this end, the Department’s patrol teams carry out strict and continuous monitoring across the country. As part of efforts to combat illegal forest use, particular importance is attached to minimizing the number of unregistered sawmills. The Department actively uses modern technological tools in practice. An immediate response is provided to every report received through the Ministry’s hotline (153). Legislation has also been strengthened. As a result, during the first seven months of the current year, the Department’s officers identified 1,026 cases of illegal forest use across the country and sealed 42 illegal sawmills.
