A new position, the “forest guard,” will be introduced in Georgia’s state forests under planned amendments to the country’s Forest Code, with the role focused on the physical protection of specifically assigned forest areas.
The legislative initiative, prepared by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, has already been submitted to Parliament for consideration.
The proposed amendments introduce a new term — “physical forest protection” — which will become an additional responsibility of the National Forestry Agency of Georgia. The agency will be tasked with physically protecting forest territories, as well as preventing, detecting and suppressing administrative violations.
Ministry says illegal logging remains one of the country’s key environmental challenges, making the strengthening of on-site forest protection particularly important.
“Preventing illegal logging directly within forest areas requires effective physical protection measures, appropriate human and technical resources, designated individuals responsible for specific territories, and both planned and unplanned monitoring,” the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture said in the explanatory note attached to the draft law.
The ministry noted that the National Forestry Agency currently lacks a formal function of physical forest protection, while the position of “forest guard” does not officially exist.
“Specialists are not assigned responsibility for protecting specific territories, which significantly reduces the effectiveness of control mechanisms,” the explanatory note states.
If the draft law is adopted, the National Forestry Agency will add 499 new employees, including four district heads with a monthly salary of 3,200 GEL, 94 foresters earning 2,880 GEL per month, and 401 forest guards with a monthly salary of 2,080 GEL.
Ministry says the expansion will require approximately 28.8 million GEL in 2026.
The projected budget includes 6.7 million GEL for six months of salaries for 499 employees, 16.49 million GEL for equipment and technology — including 950 body cameras, 150 camera traps, 1,200 tablets, portable radio transmission systems for nine regions, 1,200 radios, SMART patrol software, 54 pickup vehicles and two excavators.
Additional funding will be allocated for the construction and rehabilitation of forest roads (4.79 million GEL), health insurance (110,000 GEL), uniforms and footwear (500,000 GEL), vehicle fuel (200,000 GEL), and vehicle insurance costs, which will depend on procurement results, the explanatory note states.
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