TRAINING COURSE OF "FORESTRY SCHOOL" HAS CONDUCATED

The "Forestry School" initiative is being implemented by the EIEC to enhance the forestry profession. Students in grades 9-12 have the opportunity to learn a great deal about biodiversity and sustainable forest management throughout the training period.

For two months, the students were lectured by the representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture and invited specialists. Within the training programme, the young people studied the forests of Georgia; the role of forests in achieving sustainable development goals; forest types; timber and non-timber resources; principles of sustainable forest management; forest biodiversity; climate change and its impact on forests; forest fires; reforestation and planting; energy efficiency and alternative fuels as an opportunity to reduce pressure on forests; protected areas; ecotourism; forest monitoring and law enforcement mechanisms; logging accounting and monitoring; the profession of a forester; forestry education; and employment sectors. The graduating students were awarded certificates.

Following the online lectures, the youth took part in the fieldwork where they practically learnt the methodology used to conduct the national forest inventory nationwide and the technical procedures of forest inventory.
Students from all over the country could take part in the "Forest School". Participants were selected based on a contest.

The course has been developed within the project “Supporting the Implementation of Forest Sector Reform in Georgia – ECO.Georgia”, co-financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Government of Georgia, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The project is implemented by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, with the involvement of subordinate agencies of the Ministry.