“Everything is cut down! Forest has lost its nature! "

 Lela Khechoshvili, Kakheti 

A lot of wood is cut and then exported abroad from the mountains of Akhalsopeli village in Khvareli municipality. Locals complained about it with Human Rights Centre. They protested the fact in 2010-2012 too. Local population did not know which company exported the wood. 

Both previous and current governments kept their eyes blind on the forest cutting process; they insisted it was not correct information. 

According to the information collected by Human Rights Center, in 2012 that time head of the Kvareli district Forest Agency of the Kakheti Regional Forest Department Gocha Mindiashvili said in 2010 Italians leased the forest in Akhalsopeli for a long time. They hold license on cutting the wood and the agency could not prohibit them anything.

Human Rights Centre decided to visit Akhalsopeli forest. At the foot of the mountain, where the road to Saint George Church starts, the correspondent met shepherds who said it was impossible to reach the territory where wood is cut without off-road car.

There is Goloiani Mountain in the forests of Akhalsopeli village close to Dagestan border. The mountain is as high as Bakuriani resort and people used to spend vacations there. “They cut trees here too, but upper on Goloiani Mountain the forest is ruthlessly cut down; I do not know who does it. I know what they do here but the only thing I do not know is who sold and who bought the forest. I am 60 and can see and understand everything. They cut everything - beech, hornbeam, linden, oak… It did not start just now; the forest has been cut for years and it has lost its nature!” local Vazha Tomashvili said. 

As shepherds clarified the village is divided into districts and brooks are running on both sides of each district; the village uses those brooks for irrigation, but the brooks dried first time this summer. Locals connect the fact with the cut down forest because Shorokhevi River, which feeds the brooks in the village, takes start from Goloiani Mountain. “Unless they stop the massive cutting of the forest, we will no longer have drinking water,” the shepherds said and added that locals protested the fact several times but nobody paid attention to them.  

Human Rights Centre contacted head of Kvareli district forest agency Levan Geladze. He said nobody cuts even one tree without permission in Akhalsopeli Forest. “Population of Akhalsopeli village has been complaining about forest cutting for a long time. But in fact we have the glades there and population uses them. Supervision unit monitors the process together with us; nothing is cut without permission. In addition to that, there are groups who have license to cut wood. They are entrepreneurs. There are special spaces where they can cut down on the right. Residents for some reason state that they are destroying forests.”-stated Levan Geladze. 

Human Rights Centre also contacted former deputy chairman of Kvareli municipal board Zaza Lomidze, who is resident of Akhalsopeli village. He said his neighbors will not lie; if they claim that the forest is cut down, it must be true. 

According to the local population, deforestation creates serious threat for the village. It will cause social, economic and ecological problems. Villagers follow viticulture and agriculture as well as beekeeping. Basically, they have beehives at the foot of the mountains. Beekeepers say, their bees mostly feed with lime-flowers, but since they started to cut down lime-trees in the forest, they faced problems. Sometimes people collect forest fruit and sell them to keep families. In the past years, they collected a lot of chestnut and sold them. Last year, one kilo chestnut cost 2 – 2, 5 GEL in Velistsikhe village Sunday market. This year, price increased from 5 to 7 GEL. In Kakheti region chestnut is collected only in Kvareli district. According to the residents of Akhalsopeli villages, deforestation process reduced number of chestnut in the forest. In fact, it is on the edge of endangerment. 

The village is located in the ravine two rivers: Avani and Shorokhi. Both rivers take start from mountains. These mountains belong to the Ilia Kvareli Range. The river Shorokhi flows from Gholoiani Mountain, runs through the village and locals use it for drinking water too.  

The reverse side of Gholoiani Mountain belongs to Dagestan; locals say, Avareti-Kakheti road is planned to be constructed from that area. If it happens, the shepherds said, they will lose not only forest but pastures too.