Borjom-Kharagauli National Park hosted the World Ranger Day event. Otar Shamugia, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, and the Acting Chairman of the Agency of Protected Areas, Besik Kusidi, congratulated the rangers on their professional day.

As part of the celebration of Rangers’ Day this year, as in previous years, the “Ranger of the Year” was revealed, and symbolic gifts were handed to them in all administrations of protected areas. The event also included an exhibition of photos taken by the rangers.

On July 31, all ranges who have died in their line of duty for various reasons were remembered and honored.

“We’re celebrating World Ranger Day today, and I want to congratulate every ranger and express my gratitude for their work safeguarding our unique ecosystem. We will honor the memory of the people, our hero rangers, who sacrificed themselves for this job and, more importantly, devoted their lives to it. About 500 rangers dedicated to protecting our country’s unique nature are in charge of preventing poaching and dealing with wildfires caused by negligence and carelessness, including monitoring biodiversity and, if necessary, taking care of the safety of visitors and informing them.

In my opinion, this is an honorable job, and the state takes care and makes all efforts to ensure that they have proper working circumstances, equipment, social guarantees, and all conditions to be more efficient with their tasks and feel appreciated”, - said Otar Shamugia.

450 rangers deployed among 24 territorial administrations safeguard the Protected Areas of Georgia and protect more than 13% of the territory of the country.