Sheep, Grass and Water: get a screenshot of the support provided to shepherds by our Pilot Project in Georgia

Sheep, grass and water of Vashlovani are the natural heritage of Georgia and the source of living for 500 families. “Sheep are our main source of income. Our life depends on this income”, Mr Kavtarashvili, shepherd, explained to the camera.

The pastures of the Vashlovani Protected Area, in the South-East of Georgia, have strongly suffered the effects of climate change natural processes and human action. The structure of the ground vegetation is destroyed; the population of many rare plants is reduced. The traditional pastures within the borders of what is now the Vashlovani national park are being degraded by excessive grazing by domestic livestock.

[The video is also available in Georgian]

“Modern practices of pasture management can offer Vashlovani a way out. This can include rotational grazing and weather monitoring to allow sheep owners to effectively use natural resources,” says Tornike Phulariani from UNDP.

Since 2013, the EU-funded Clima East project, together with UNDP in Georgia, is implementing a pilot project aiming at:

• rehabilitating these pastures;
• introducing sustainable land management practices
• improve the living conditions of the local population.

“Clima East assists national governments to mitigate and adapt to the climate change by introducing innovative practices of pasture management, which in turn improves the lives of the local residents,” says Alvaro Ortega Aparicio from the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia.

4,000 hectares of the degraded land are now being rehabilitated and 300 hectares long migratory route is coming back to life by 2017 to reverse and stabilise the climate change effects. The additional watering points on the sheep migratory route, the most degraded part of the pastures, will assist to better organise sheep movement and release the pressure from the degraded land.

This video was produced by the EU-funded Clima East Pilot Project in Georgia, in collaboration with UNDP. 

For more information, take a look at the Clima East page dedicated to the Pilot project in Georgia.