As New Year celebrations approach, Georgia’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture has tightened controls on the harvesting and transportation of coniferous trees to prevent environmental damage.
The National Forestry Agency is urging citizens to protect natural resources by opting for artificial Christmas trees instead of cutting live ones. The agency warns that illegal cutting, transportation or sale of coniferous trees carries strict penalties.
As the agency stated, a first violation is punishable by a fine of 2,000 GEL. Repeat offenses lead to criminal liability, along with compensation for environmental damage. If the assessed damage exceeds 1,000 GEL, criminal proceedings may be launched, with penalties ranging from fines to one to three years of imprisonment. In cases of large-scale illegal harvesting where environmental damage exceeds 3,000 GEL, offenders may face five to seven years in prison.
National Forestry Agency head Kakhaber Tsertsvadze emphasized that all detected violations will be sanctioned within the law.
The agency also clarified that coniferous trees may be obtained legally only from nurseries, plantations, household plots or through import. Sellers of legally sourced trees must provide documentation proving lawful ownership. If a tree is harvested on private land or from an artificially planted nursery, a certificate of origin, issued by the local municipal authority, is required for transportation.
