Georgia: The Employees of the Environmental Supervision Department of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture, in the framework of the fight against illegal forest use identified 111 facts of illegal forest use, from July 01 to July 31, 2025.

65 of the revealed violations relate to the illegal acquisition and transportation of trees, and 46 are related to the violation of the technical regulations of saw mills and illegal saw mills. 11 facts of the offenses contain criminal offenses.

Most of the illegal forest use – 25 facts revealed in Adjara. 18 violations were recorded in Imereti, Kakheti – 16, Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti – 14, Racha-Lechkhumi-Lower Svaneti- 12, Samtskhe-Javakheti – 12, Shida Kartli – 6, Lower Kartli – 5, Guria – 2, 1 violation was reported in Mtskheta-Mtianeti. In total, more than 115 cubic meters of illegally obtained trees were removed.

At the same time, throughout the country, 6 units of unregistered saws have been sealed. The materials, for the purpose of further response, were sent to the relevant authorities.

Fighting illegal forest use is a priority for the Department of Environmental Supervision. In seven months of this year, department employees have identified 1003 cases of illegal forest use across the country. 44 illegal mining saws have been sealed.

It is to be added that the Department of Environmental Supervision crews carry out continuous 24-hour patrolling throughout the country to prevent and detect illegal forestry, poaching, fishing, and other environmental violations promptly. In addition, an immediate response is given to each message received on the hotline (153) of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture.

Modern technologies are actively used for prevention, revealing, and suppressing facts of violations of the law. At the same time, sanctions on illegal forest use are getting stricter. Overall, the result of all these actions is that in recent years, there has been a decline in illegal logging.