Tbilisi/GenevaThe Ministry of Environment Protection (MEP) of Georgia and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) launched the 2nd Environmental Performance Review (EPR) of Georgia on 24 June in Tbilisi.
The event, which was opened by Mr George Khachidze, Minister of Environment Protection, gathered representatives from key Governmental and state institutions, NGOs and donors. Numerous Ministries where represented including those of Economy and Sustainable Development; Finance; Agriculture; Energy and Natural Resources; Regional Development and Infrastructure; Foreign Affairs; Internal Affairs; Health, Labour and Social Affairs; and the Security Council of Georgia. Numerous NGOs were also represented, including REC Caucasus; Green Alternative; the Green Movement; Centre for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia; and Aarhus Centre Georgia. Other national and international stakeholders also participated, including OSCE ENVSEC, GIZ, USAID, IUCN, CENN, and Tbilisi State University.
The Minister of Environment Protection, Mr. George Khachidze, Ms Nino Tkhilava, Head of Department of Environmental Policy and International Relations of MEP Georgia, Mr. Tornike Phulariani, Head of Environmental Policy Division of MEP Georgia, Mr. Antoine Nunes, EPR Programme Leader, and Mr. George Georgiadis, EPR Project Coordinator held presentations on the different aspects of the 2nd EPR Report of Georgia.
The Report issued a set of forty-one specific recommendations that relate to actions Georgia needs to implement in order to improve its state of environment and to create the necessary preconditions for a more effective integration of the goals of sustainable development into its sectoral policies. The Government of Georgia officially approved the recommendations and these will be integrated into the national environmental protection policy, thus contributing significantly to the improvement of environmental management and the further integration of environmental and economic concerns.
The EPR of Georgia can be found in English at: http://www.unece.org/env/epr/publications.html
For more information on the EPR Programme, please visit: http://www.unece.org/env/epr/welcome.htm.
Note to editors
In 1993, at the Second “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference, ministers requested UNECE to undertake EPRs in countries with economies in transition that were not OECD members. By 2004, the first cycle of Reviews had been completed, and UNECE is now performing second Reviews. This second round, while taking stock of the progress made since the first Review, puts particular emphasis on implementation, integration, financing and the socio-economic interface with the environment.
Ref: ECE/ENV/11/P29