A memorandum of cooperation was signed between the National Forestry Agency and the representation of the “Efes Beverage International Group” [EBI].

The purpose of the memorandum is to establish corporate collaboration within the framework of the volunteer platform “Forest Friend”. The document was signed by Kakha Tsertsvadze, Head of the National Forestry Agency [NFA], and Burç Kurtoğlu, Director of LLC “Lomisi”.

The volunteer platform “Forest Friend” focuses on the necessity of forest protection, restoration, and sustainable management, as well as the involvement of the private sector and volunteers in these processes.

As part of the partnership, the NFA will be responsible for selecting areas for forest restoration and management, preparing restoration projects, and overseeing the work.

“The main goal of the project is to unite the community around environmental responsibility. It is important for us that the platform brings together not only volunteer groups but also the private sector, including large companies. The memorandum of cooperation with “Efes Georgia” proves this; I believe that with their support, we will implement several important forest restoration projects”, - said Kakha Tsertsvadze.

The “Forest Friend” was established by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, the NFA, with the support of the UNDP and the UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative. “Efes Georgia” is one of the first companies to join “Forest Friend”. At the company’s initiative, last year, forest restoration activities were carried out on an area of 12 hectares in Tianeti.