working meeting

On September 3, 2025, four (4) in-person sessions/workshops were held within the framework of this project “Redirecting efforts towards conservation through "Forest Friend" – A Platform to catalyze reforestation and forest conservation activities through the participation of the private sector and the general public (Phase 2).” The main objective of these sessions was introduction to the participants of the sessions, most of whom are employees of the National Forestry Agency of Georgia, to the key elements of ecosystems monitoring national framework for monitoring of ecosystems carbon stocks in baseline scenario and changes in stocks of different pools of ecosystems as a result of GHGs emission mitigation projects implementation as a part of planned national carbon offsetting programme implemented through REDD+ mechanism.

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The meeting discussed:

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• the three ecosystems (forests, grasslands and swamp) considered in the project proposal “Restoration and sustainable management of Alazani floodplain forests” prepared within the framework of the current UNDP/BioFIN project and the sources/sinks and general potential of carbon accumulation and/or emission by all three ecosystems considered within the proposal;

• the key issues required by the VCS standards to be reported in a funding proposal, such as, “expected contribution of a project to the country’s sustainable development processes", and "stakeholder consultations;"

• One of the sessions was devoted to studies conducted to assess the carbon stocks in forests in Georgia. One of such studies covered the entire territory of national forests and lasted for 3 years;

• The discussion mainly focused on the definitions of ecosystems, accumulation in ecosystems, and emission sources.