Emerald Sites
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Increase area under the protection of Emerald site designations
Data collection in progress
Kakheti Steppes
Georgia
Problem: Some grasslands in this project area have important ecological and cultural significance, but are not protected under any national legislation and are therefore are vulnerable to degradation, including through habitat conversion and grazing practices.
Action: SABUKO is working to expand the area that is designated as part of the Emerald Network via policy change and advocacy. This global acknowledgment highlights the significance of these ecosystems and reinforces their safeguarding through tailored management plans and environmental impact assessments for specific activities permitted inside the site.
Indicator: Increasing the area under Emerald status increases the area under a protection mechanism that will reinforce sustainable use of this grassland ecosystem.
Vashlovani Protected Areas Emerald Site. Photo: Mariam Archuadze.
Chachuna Managed Reserve Emerald Site. Photo: Mariam Archuadze.
Kotsakhura Emerald Site. Photo: Mariam Archuadze.
Methods
The designation information for the Emerald Network Sites can be accessed through the official websites of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia and the Council of Europe under the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, as seen in the screenshot below (Fig. 1). Area under protection is tracked on an annual basis.
Figure 1: Map of Emerald Network designated sites in Georgia (green). Sites in orange are located in neighbouring Azerbaijan. From https://emerald.eea.europa.eu/
Results
SABUKO has already had great success in increasing the amount of key habitat protected under Emerald designations. The graph below (Fig. 2) shows the number of hectares that have been protected as part of the Emerald Network in each year since 2016.
Figure 2: Area protected under Emerald Network in each year.
The map below (Fig. 3) shows the locations of the Emerald Network sites within the project area. Chachuna and Vashlovani were added in 2017, prior to the start of the ELSP project period, while Samukhi and Kotsakhura were added during the ELSP project period in 2022.
Figure 3: Locations of designated Emerald Network sites within the project area.
Interpretation
One can see in the graph that there are years when no hectares are added under protection. This is because it takes multiple years to make the application, fulfil all the requirements, and officially get a designation in place. As time goes on, we can expect more years where it appears where nothing is happening, following by spikes where thousands of additional hectares will be protected.
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