Employees of the Department of Environmental Supervision under the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, within the framework of combating illegal forest use, have identified 2 cases of illegal logging.

In Akhmeta Municipality, in the Pankisi Gorge, in the village of Shua Khalatsani, the offender was found to have stored, in his registered sawmill, 8 unmarked beech logs and up to 2 cubic meters of primary processed timber (planks) obtained from illegally harvested trees.

Near the village of Akhasheni in Gurjaani Municipality, a citizen produced 11 round logs from six poplar trees that had been illegally cut on state forest land. The case contains elements of a criminal offense, and the materials have been forwarded to the relevant authority for further legal action.

Combating illegal forest use remains a top priority for the Department. For this purpose, the Department conducts strict and continuous monitoring nationwide. As a result, last year alone, more than 500 cases of illegal forest use were identified within the operational area of the Kakheti Regional Division.