Strengthening Livelihoods and Social Inclusion in Georgia’s Forest Sector Reform

Forests are essential for Georgia’s climate resilience, biodiversity,  and rural  livelihoods. Yet, decades of overuse and weak governance have left  forest ecosystems degraded and vulnerable.  

Switzerland, as a strategic partner, contributes to the Forest Sector Reform by  promoting decentralized and sustainable forest governance that strengthens  local institutions and rural economies. Phase 1 has laid critical groundwork, but  significant gaps remain: municipalities lack the institutional and technical capacities needed for assuming  forest management responsibilities by 2030; participatory  forest governance is still limited; and the education system does not adequately prepare the forest workforce. Forest value chains remain largely informal,  underdeveloped and inaccessible for the disadvantaged groups, particularly women. Phase 2 will address these challenges  to  ensure  sustainability  of  the  reform’s achievements.    

Direct beneficiaries: 2’000 persons, including municipal staff, forest-dependent  households, entrepreneurs and SMEs, vocational trainees and university  students,  private sector actors through the Alumni Network. 

Indirect beneficiaries include 242’500 citizens from eight municipalities in the regions of Kakheti, Guria and Mtskheta-Mtianeti, with a special focus on 66’928 socially vulnerable individuals, majority being women. 

Outcome 1: The municipal authorities and citizens have and use relevant technical  and human capacities to participate in the sustainable management of forests in  the target regions. 

Outcome 2: Men and women in target communities benefit from diversified  income opportunities thanks to forest-related value chains, forest-related knowledge and skills. 

Risultati principali attesi:  

 - 810 persons enrolled in forestry TVET courses. 

- 3 joint forestry research projects initiated between the Ilia State University and ETH Zurich. 

- 200 forestry value chain actors, constituting the Alumni Network, capacitated in  business skills and commercial networking. 

- 20 trained enterprises formally registered for better marketing opportunities. 

- 4 municipalities piloting Green Space Management/Municipal Forest Management. 

Risultati fasi precedenti:  

- A number of municipal-level tools was developed and piloted: a legal act defining  the Forests of Local Importance (FoLI), a Municipal Forest Management (MFM)  toolbox, an Improved Public Participation Approach (IPPA), a Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM). 

- 3 summer schools for the forestry students from the Ilia State University and ETH Zurich took place. 

-  A long-cycle vocational course for a Forest Work Specialist and 3 short-cycle training courses on forest value chains were developed for 8 TVET colleges. 

-  144 local SMEs and entrepreneurs across forest value chains were capacitated. 

-  32 business ideas were upgraded and supported, with 22 of them successfully  securing external financing. 

Fase 2 01.10.2025 - 31.12.2029   (Active)