LocationsColchic Rainforest and Wetlands granted World Heritage Status
UNESCO to Protect Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands
July 27, 2021
Photo: UNDP/Irakli Dzneladze
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added the Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands to the World Heritage List granting these unique ecosystems international protection and technical assistance to ensure sustainable management, monitoring, and conservation.
Known as a ‘slice of the Amazon in Eurasia’, Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion located along the southern shore of the Black Sea. It sheltered heat-loving plants during the previous glacial period and is abundant in relict and endemic species.
The Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands are located within the boundaries of four protected areas in Georgia: the Kolkheti and Mtirala National Parks and the Kintrishi and Kobuleti Protected Areas. Georgia applied for the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019. The final decision to list the Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands as a UNESCO natural World Heritage site was made in July 2021 at the extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee in Fuzhou (China).
President of Georgia Salome Zourabishvili and Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture Levan Davitashvili announced this decision at an event held in Kolkheti National Park on 27 July.
“UNESCO’s decision is important not just for Georgia. This international recognition is important for the entire Black Sea region. It confirms that Georgia's unique nature belongs to the world."Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia
The UNESCO decision follows years of biodiversity protection and conservation led by the Georgian Government and supported by the European Union, Germany, the Global Environment Facility, UNDP, the United States, and other international partners.
To support protected areas associated with Colchic Rainforests, UNDP helped develop ten-year management and biodiversity monitoring plans, introduced SMART patrolling technology (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) and established e-learning platforms for staff. UNDP is also helping to assess and counter the risk of plant diseases (like Chestnut blight) that endanger the entire ecosystem.
“Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands — which survived a glacial period — present us with the opportunity and privilege to admire a magnificent natural system that goes back 15,000 years. Cherishing and protecting this unique ecoregion is our shared responsibility. UNDP assists Georgia in introducing new approaches to biodiversity protection and integrating ecosystem services into the country’s economic and social development."Anna Chernyshova, UNDP Resident Representative a.i. in Georgia
Background Information:
UNDP’s decade-long support for Georgia’s protected areas draws on GEF funding and close partnerships with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, the Agency of Protected Areas and the Caucasus Nature Fund. UNDP support focuses on assisting Georgia in expanding protected areas, improving their management, and ensuring financial sustainability. UNDP also helps make it possible for communities surrounding national parks to play an integral role in environmental protection and to benefit from green economic opportunities.
Media Contacts:
- Nana Chinchilakishvili, MEPA, +995 599 502619, nana.chinchilakashvili@moa.gov.ge
- Sophie Tchitchinadze, UNDP, +995 599 196907, sophie.tchitchinadze@undp.org
- Ira Sulava, UNDP, +995 599 579105, irine.sulava@undp.org
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