Three Business Service Yards to be established in Mtskheta municipality serve as an alternative to illegal logging and offer people easy access to firewood used for heating and other daily needs. Once fully operational, they will supply around 43,000 people with wood biomass and sustainably harvested timber.

With USD 920,000 in funding from Japan, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) assists the National Forestry Agency (NFA) of Georgia’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture to build, develop and improve Business Service Yards and ensure that they provide quality services to local communities.

By the end of 2022, UNDP will help the NFA to build and equip a Business Service Yard in the village Jighaura and equip two more Business Services Yards in the villages Dzegvi and Qvemo Lisi with all-terrain vehicles and firefighting tools. UNDP will also train foresters in sustainable forest management, distribute energy-efficient stoves to the most vulnerable families and organise an information campaign to let people know why forest protection is so important.

The Japan and UNDP support is part of a broader effort to promote Georgia’s ongoing forestry reform and help the country achieve its far-reaching climate goals.