Project Description
The project purpose was to strengthen environmental monitoring and management tools of the Georgian Ministry for Environmental Protection and Natural Resources and other authorities responsible for environmental monitoring. The project wass based on the recommendations of the UN/ECE Working Group on Environmental Monitoring ("Recommendations to Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan on improving national environmental monitoring and information systems") and also on the proposals of the UN/ECE Document "Integrated Water resources Management (IWRM) including Transboundary River Basin Issues".
The project focused on environmental monitoring and environmental problems in the western parts of Georgia and worked closely with the projects carried out in the east. The project wass implemented in two phases, starting from the general framework level and proceeding to detailed and practical implementation of regional monitoring programme(s). The activities included e.g. the following:
- Development of the current water monitoring system;
- Preparation of strategy and action plan for water monitoring; specification of goals, purposes and objectives of the monitoring system. Assessment of the needs of the environmental data as a part of a modern and effective environmental management system;
- Preparation of and carrying out environmental monitoring training (monitoring network design, sample collection, laboratory analyses and quality assurance, data handling and storage, data analysis, information utilization including reporting on different levels);
- Renovation of selected hydro-meteorological stations located in the western part of Georgia and assessment of the needs for automatic measurements e.g. automatic water level and flow measurements;
- Field works in the Rioni River basin: hot spot survey, early warning system, flood forecasting.
Services provided by SYKE
- Overall project management;
- Support in the assessment of the current water monitoring system and in the development of a modern system;
- Assessment of the training needs, training on environmental monitoring and control.
More information
Mr. Karri Eloheimo, Project Manager, Freshwater Centre, Finnish Environment Institute