The Freedom, Rapid Development and Welfare - Government Program for 2018-2020 is a national multi-sectoral governmental program of Georgia. Its main objective is to create a solid basis for the social and economic development of the country with a long-term perspective. The Program aims to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable. To this end, the Government is planning to continue its active environment protection and agricultural development policy to ensure a sustainable and healthy environment, improve the ecological environment, enhance the compatibility of agricultural products with sustainable development, ensure the stable growth of food production, and secure food safety and rural development. In addition, the Government aims to continue to actively work on the development of a green economy, because promoting green growth will encourage lower expenses from businesses and the development of new business directions. In the process of introducing a green economy, the Government will use concrete initiatives to encourage green investments, aid the production of environmentally friendly food products, green production, the development of clean transport, sustainable ecotourism, ecosystem services, the enhancement of the scope of renewable energy, the implementation of energy efficient measures, the introduction of climate smart and ecofriendly technologies, separate waste collection, promote waste-free production, and supporting the establishment of innovative green startups. Further, under the document, the Government plans to introduce the institution of Eco-Ombudsman. This institution will serve as a platform for discussions on important environmental issues between different sectors. An environmental impact evaluation system with transparent procedures will also be introduced. For environmental damage prevention and compensation purposes, an effective for environmental responsibility will be put in place. New regulatory norms will be adopted to protect and preserve biodiversity and to ensure the sustainable use of biological resources. The state will ensure the expansion of protected areas and the promotion of ecotourism. To introduce and foster sustainable forest management practices, effective mechanisms for forest maintenance, protection, and restoration will be introduced, which will contribute to keeping and improving quantitative and qualitative forestry indicators. Forest control mechanisms will be upgraded. In line with environmental policy, tax breaks will be introduced on lumber import, namely lumber import will be exempt from VAT. Switchover to the integrated management system for water resources will also continue based on the European principles of sustainable water resource management and pool management. To enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, the Program provides for supporting agricultural cooperation; creation of the farmers’ registry and a geo-information land use system to ensure the rational use of agricultural land resources; studying degraded soil and activities seeking to improve their fertility; and developing a legislative framework for managing and building windbreak zones. The Government will also support the development of the sectors of crop storage, sorting, packaging, processing, and distributing. The Agro Insurance project will continue, enhancing access to agricultural machinery will be promoted, and the size of meliorated (provided with water and drainage) will grow. Irrigation and drainage systems will be developed and improved. The introduction of modern irrigation systems and the establishment of unions of water users will be supported. The formation and further upgrading of an effective and flexible state control system for food/forage safety, veterinary, and plant protection will continue. The areas of food safety, veterinary, and phytosanitary will be further aligned with the relevant EU legislation defined under the DCFTA Plan of Georgia. Among others, it will ensure the adoption of European standards in the internal market and the growth of the export potential of agricultural products, which will play an important role in the development of economy and the positioning of the country’s image as a reliable trade partner. In order to increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, the Program aims to mitigate threats arising from climate change-related natural disasters. Also, the hydro-meteorological monitoring network will be expanded, modeling capabilities will be strengthened, and a national early warning system will be put in place. The atmospheric air, water, and soil quality monitoring and evaluation system will be upgraded, and so will be the atmospheric air pollution and water use metering systems. European vehicle emission norms will be introduced, the qualitative norms for liquid fuel will be improved, and modern European emission norms will be established for large manufacturing facilities. The level of nuclear and radiation safety will improve, a new system for radioactive waste management will be created to protect the population and environment from possible threats of radiation. The process of purchasing homes for eco-migrants will continue throughout the country, as well as the process of registering residences and land lots, allocated in previous years, for eco-migrant families to own. The Program also provides for the management of minerals, specifically valuable ores.
Géorgie · 2018-06-01