Georgia to Have First National Strategy of Sustainable Urban Transport
TBILISI – Georgia will soon have the first National Strategy of Sustainable Urban Transport.
The information was released at the first national discussions about sustainable urban transport. The discussions took place on February 28 in Tbilisi, and were organized by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia, with assistance from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF).
The event was opened by the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia, Gigla Agulashvili, and Niels Scott, Head of UNDP in Georgia. They launched a series of national discussions that are meant to lead Georgia to developing a national concept of sustainable urban transport including for the first national strategy and policy framework.
Members of the Georgian government and parliament, representatives from the Tbilisi Mayor’s Office and local municipalities, representatives from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and members of the media took part in the discussions.
The development of Georgia’s first national strategy on sustainable urban transport will bring together a range of stakeholders, such as the Government and Parliament, local authorities, civil society organizations, academics and international partners. The Georgian NGO “Partnership for Road Safety” and the Dutch NGO MOVE Mobility will contribute with their expertise and resources to implement the National Strategy of Sustainable Urban Transport.
Environment Minister Gigla Agulashvili believes the implementation of the strategy will help to develop transport system across the country. “Georgia’s 11 cities have joined the Green City Project and during the next six months we will develop the National Strategy of Sustainable Urban Transport. This will allow us to improve the situation in this sector in the future,” the minister said.
Deputy Tbilisi Mayor Irakli Lekvinadze says the primary version of the Action Plan will be ready by April or May. “At the end of last year, with The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, we started working on the Green City concept Action Plan. In April or May we will present the primary version of the document. Most of the Green City concept is dedicated to transport direction,” the Deputy Mayor said.
According to Niels Scott, Head of UNDP in Georgia, there will be public transport benefits for Georgians. “I hope that after the National Strategy of Sustainable Urban Transport is implemented, more people will use public transport,” he said.
The strategy will be grounded on the national vision, strategic directions and priorities of sustainable urban transport, which will be identified as a result of national discussions. It will include guidelines for local authorities and will propose institutional and financial mechanisms for coordinating sustainable urban transport on the national, regional and local levels.
The process will be led by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia with support from UNDP and GEF based on the experience of their joint initiative “Batumi – Green City” that promotes green urban development in the region of Adjara.
By Thea Morrison