Restoring Georgia's Forests Through Community Governance

CENN, founded in 1998, works across the South Caucasus but is headquartered in Tbilisi and led Georgia's push for its first-ever National Forest Policy, adopted by parliament in 2013. Its Austrian-funded Sustainable Forest Governance program (2015-2018) reached over 2,000 direct beneficiaries in Adjara, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Kakheti and Tbilisi municipality with training in modern, decentralized forest management. In the Tsalka region, CENN's Embrace Tsalka initiative secured gas-line extensions to 11 underserved villages, cutting the wood-cutting pressure that was degrading nearby forests. CENN operates two Green Centers, in Argokhi and Bulachauri, that model permaculture and rural forest-friendly livelihoods.