From January 1 to date, over a nine-month period, employees of the National Forestry Agency [NFA] detected 505 cases of illegal logging. In September of this year, 42 violations were uncovered, 41 of which were related to illegal logging, including timber transportation. Additionally, 1 case of unauthorized occupation of state forest land was detected in the Imereti region.

In total, up to 82 cubic meters of illegally harvested firewood and industrial timber of various species were seized in September and stored at the forestry agency`s operational log yards for further disposition. Nationwide, out of the illegal logging cases, 9 violations were detected in Imereti, 1 in Samtskhe-Javakheti, 12 in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, 10 in the Kvemo Kartli region, 4 in Guria, 4 in Kakheti, and 1 in the Shida Kartli region.

"As you know, at the initiative of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, the forestry reform is actively underway, with one of its main goals being the strengthening of state control and the reduction of illegal forest use. Our primary objective is to reduce the unauthorized use of natural resources, for which an additional 401 forest rangers are involved in monitoring specific ranger beats. All these measures, together with relevant agencies, ultimately allow for effective implementation of control", - said Besik Amiranashvili, Head of NFA.