Protecting Local Resources
In 2008, EPF funded the NGO Green Alternative to focus on the decentralization of forests, which were being transferred to the authority of local governments. During the project, Green Alternative conducted four trainings in the underserved regions of Oni (two), Ambrolauri, and Lentekhi to educate both representatives of the communities and the local authorities on the basics of forest sector decentralization. In total, 129 community leaders and local officials participated. Strategic planning meetings in Tbilisi and the regions involved 15 NGOs that work on either environmental or local governance issues, creating a forum for civic discussion.
During the project, Green Alternative conducted 26 acts of field monitoring that included monitoring of state of forests to be transferred, an assessment of the local authorities’ readiness to assume responsibility for local forests, and an evaluation of the government’s policy in this field. The findings were compiled into two publications and distributed in Tbilisi and the target regions, including among local governance bodies.
At a seminar in December 2008, the grantee included the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources and other stakeholders in a discussion about forest management and local governance. The discussion contributed to significant changes in the government’s forest policy, affecting the taking of inventory of local forests and defining regulations about the use of forests by the local authorities prior to the actual transfer. Recommendations made during the discussion were given to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources and the Parliamentary Committee for Environmental Protection and Natural Resources. Based upon the grantee’s recommendation, the ministry created a 20-person working group to take inventory of the forests.
In December 2008, the communities trained within the project held a protest rally before the Ministry of Economic Development and demanded that auctions for long-term use and management of local forests be cancelled. The local media covered the protest, which was also supported by the local governments of the target regions. As a result, the Ministry of Economic Development abolished the previous controversial decree on granting special licenses for long-term use of forests for logging, which had given an unfair advantage to companies and deprived citizens of access to wood (a valuable resource for cooking and heating). The Ministry’s resulting decision improved access to the wood in the forests, benefiting not only the project’s three target regions but the populations of 20 other regions of Georgia.
2010 Small Grants Competition to Empower Citizens through Participatory Civic Monitoring and Advocacy
The winners of the 2010 competition for small grants
Grant Competition: Open Door
The winners of the grant 2010 Grant Competition
