Why Destroy Karaleti Forest?

Saba Tsitsikashvili, Gori

The vast forest in the village of Karaleti in Gori District has been permanently destroyed. Locals are protesting over the incident and they claim the state does not pay least attention to the 350 hectares of pristine forest.

Firuz Bazandarashvili, a resident of Karaleti, applied to the Human Rights Center’s Gori Office for help. He stated that only 150-100 hectares of forest is remained out of total 350 hectares. He worked as a forester since 1960 and now he is worried about the situation. He deliberately tried to protect the forest but certain people warned him it would be better to keep silent. If he did not stop they threatened his life. Firuz Bazandarashvili claims that nut-trees planted on the embankment of the Liakhvi River in Karaleti have been destroyed by bulldozers.

Firuz Bazandarashvili: “I worked as a forester since 1960 for the Gori Forest Preserve. I have with my own hands planted trees on the 350 hectares in Karaleti. I worked almost in every village of the region for three or four years. Everywhere I looked after forest. I have been decorated with many medals and awards by both the local and central governments. Thus, now I am really worried about the trees I have planted myself that are destroyed and nobody is concerned. In 1995 Forest Department refused to take care of the state forest areas and be concerned with ownership of these forests.”

“I start fighting against the people who destroy the forest but I am not authorized enough because currently I am a former forester who resigned.  Thus, I request to assign the forest on my name for an extended period of time so to look after it and start to rehabilitate the forest. More precisely, currently only 130-150 hectares of forest has survived in the village of Karaleti. Similar is the situation in other villages of the region. The forests are cut in barbarian way. They cut fertile nut-trees by bulldozers and there is nobody responsible for controlling the situation.”

Zviad Berianidze, representative of the Gori District Governor to Karaleti Community, stated that the protest is groundless. He said in commentary, “I know who has applied to you; it was Firuz Bazandarashvili. He wanted to lease a land with nut-trees on it but a private company has leased that tract for 49 years. We cannot take it back from the company. As for forest, the requested area is on the river embankment that is stretched until the village of Ortasheni and central bridge are now ruined. Firuz is now demanding that these buffers and environmental areas between the village of Ortasheni and others be somehow reestablished. Now he demands to assign the green buffer area to our village. Everything will now be studied and the changes in the situation will be considered.”

Officials from the local government have not commented. They are occupied for the moment in restoring the bridge destroyed by the flooded river.

Human Rights Center’s Gori Office appeals to the local authority to react on the discussed situation and put the end to destruction of the unique environmental buffer areas of the pristine forest.