The Dutch Minister of Spatial Planning and Environment, Jacqueline Cramer, paid a visit to Georgia early May 2008. Minister Cramer came on the invitation by the Minister for Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Georgia.

The Minister was accompanied by the VROM-Inspectorate and an expert delegation that comprised of Netherlands organisations operating in the field of environment: Ameco, Milieukontakt, EIA Commission, HKV, Alkyon, WECF and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek. On the side of Dutch Ministry for Economic Development, the EVD was present.

Throughout the visit bilateral ties were strengthened by stressing on the importance of taking care of the environment in a broader perspective and putting forward intentions for future cooperation in a range of environmental fields.

Looking back

The visit was a celebration of 10 years of environmental cooperation between Georgia and The Netherlands. Looking back on these 10 years, conclusions and lessons learned were outlined during a seminar at the Ministry of Environment. Interesting presentations from both sides on a variety of topics made clear that bilateral cooperation between Georgia and The Netherlands does not stand alone. This cooperation is part of a multilateral framework such as discussions in Environment for Europe, UN-ECE as well as the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).

Queen’s Day

At the Queen’s Day reception Minister Cramer was introduced to Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze as well as other members of the national and international community.

Looking forward

Challenges of the environmental sector in Georgia were discussed by both delegations, representatives of international (donor-) organisations and NGOs during a symposium on the 1st of May, 2008. Among these challenges are issues in the field of implementation and enforcement of legislation, capacity building and strategic- and internal planning. At the end of the symposium a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by both Ministers to express their intention for continued cooperation in the future.

Afterwards a  press statement was made.

Kutaisi

On the way to Adjara, a short stop was made to take notice of the successful development and implementation of Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPs) in the city of Kutaisi.

Adjara

In Adjara’s capital Batumi, Minister Cramer and Minister Ghvaladze were welcomed by the Chairman of the Autonomous  Government, Gouvernor Levan Varshalomidze.

Minister Cramer paid a visit to the Chorokhi river and Batumi’s landfill that is situated on the bank of this river. After a feasibility study into the coastal erosion situation, implemented by the Netherlands EIA Commission in 2006 on the request by the Georgian Ministry for Environment, a Netherlands consortium (Alkyon, HKV, Arcadis) will carry out a pilot project in 2008 to provide sustainable solutions to stop this erosion.

Together with Governor Varshalomidze, Minister Cramer opened the Dutch-Georgian factory GENEPLAST which produces plastic crates for the agricultural sector. This factory was set up with PSOM support. The crates are being produced according to CSR-norms.

At the end of the visit, the delegation visited the administrative center of Mtirala National Park and admired the Botanical Garden of Batumi.

F.l.t.r: Ambassador Elderenbosch, Gocha Gigineishvili, Irakli Goradze, Hugo von Meijenfeldt, Tony Liebregts, Minister Cramer, Rik Kleinjans, Minister Ghvaladze, Janet Alberda, Edwin Koning, Nino Sharashidze, Judith van der Stel, Martijn Onderwater, Teona Gobejishvili, Kete Mumladze, Hermjan Barneveld, Zaal Lomtadze, Dimitri  Ghlonti, Sjoerd van Keulen, Revaz Enukidze.