From June 2017 to December 2018, I had the pleasure of being an advisor on an EU-financed project carried out by Lithuania which sought to strengthen capacities for sustainable forest management in Georgia. This project was the first major twinning support between Lithuania and Georgia aimed at improving sustainable management of forests.

The overall goal was to support the development of a sustainable forest management system harmonised with EU standards and directives. In other words, our task was to enhance the capacity of the state forest institutions in order to prevent and combat illegal activities in the sector and to ensure the sustainable management of the country's forests, including legal harvesting and trading of timber and non-timber forest products through harmonising Georgia's forest regulatory framework with EU standards, methods, guidelines and good practice. The aim was also to improve the forest information and monitoring system and to strengthen communication to this end between the relevant institutions.  

After 17 months of intensive work and very close cooperation between the beneficiary country and the Member States, the Strengthening Sustainable Management of Forests in Georgia project has reached its final implementation stage.

Our key achievements are as follows:

• Appreciation of the European Union as a partner and donor in the shaping of Georgian forest policy based on principles of sustainable forest management;
• Creation of a new type of intensive collaboration between different projects and donors in Georgia's forestry sector, thus achieving more targeted results and value added;
• Useful recommendations and strong incentive input into the drafting of Georgia's new Forestry Law;
• Understanding and acknowledgement at the political level of the option of an economically efficient state forest management body/system in Georgia based primarily on the Lithuanian example;
• Improvement of the institutional frame for forestry supervision based on recommendations of the Lithuanian and Hungarian partners.

 
I would like to voice my great appreciation for the strong collaborative spirit and both professional and personal commitment demonstrated by all the staff of the beneficiary institutions during the implementation of the project. This has proven to be a significant factor contributing toward achieving the project results.