A cross was recently placed and consecrated on the planned construction site (Aida Mirmaksumova/OC Media)
Construction on the shore of Makhachkala’s Ak-Gyol Lake by local authorities and private entrepreneurs has been going on for years, to the chagrin of many locals. The fight against the latest such construction, an Orthodox Christian cathedral, has been taken on by local Christians themselves, who are suing the local government and their own diocese. [Read more…]
On the fourth day of fighting a wildfire in southern Georgia’s Samtskhe–Javakheti region, hundreds of firefighters along with helicopters and fire engines have managed to prevent the fire from spreading. However, it will be long before the fire is fully extinguished, officials say, as the wind occasionally gets stronger. Meanwhile, small wildfires broke out on 22 August at four other locations in the country. [Read more…]
(The administration of government)
It’s been three days since firefighters and lifeguards have been trying to contain a wildfire in southern Georgia’s Samtskhe–Javakheti region. The fire has devastated more than 12 hectares (120,000 m²) of land, leaving adjacent villages in panic. No casualties were reported. [Read more…]
(Facebook)
Twelve cases of illegal logging were revealed by Georgia’s Environmental Supervision Department on 1 August, 10 in Kakheti and two in Samtskhe-Javakheti. [Read more…]
Mestiachala HPP (Tatuli Chubabria/ OC Media)
The Georgian Government is committed to fully exploiting the country’s hydropower potential. Collective mobilisation against mass construction of hydropower plants has began to emerge, but activists say they are met with exclusion and repression. [Read more…]
A truck carrying ore from the open pit to the processing factory. Kazreti, Georgia (Tsira Gvasalia/Golden Dust)
GeoProMining is an international precious metals mining company. It was founded by Russian businessman Siman Povarenkin, with a local partner in Georgia, Koba Nakopia. The company has damaged environments in Georgia, Armenia, and Russia while mining gold and other precious metals.
Thanks to close contacts in local governments, the gold mining enterprise and its subsidiaries have never been seriously penalised. Local governments either don’t investigate major environmental pollution incidents or they don’t publish the investigation results.
About 4,000 trees will be cut due to the construction of a 400 metre section of motorway linking the Georgian capital Tbilisi with Rustavi to the south. According to the On.ge, up to 2,500 trees have already been cut, and process is still underway. [Read more…]
Ak-Gel park (Change.org)
A group of activists in the Daghestani capital Makhachkala have began collecting signatures in an attempt to save the city’s Ak-Gel park. [Read more…]
Tori Street in Borjomi (Tinatin Zazadze/Samkhretis Karibche)
A landslide and flood hit parts of Borjomi, a resort in southern Georgia, on 20 May. [Read more…]
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) has upheld a complaint from Georgian environmental groups against the Dariali Hydro Power Plant Project in Kazbegi Municipality, northern Georgia. [Read more…]
