The Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands, known as a ‘slice of the Amazon in Eurasia’, is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion located along the southern shore of the Black Sea. It sheltered heat-loving plants during the previous glacial period, and is abundant in relict and endemic species.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added these to the World Heritage List, a new status which provides these unique ecosystems with international protection and technical assistance to ensure that they are sustainably managed, monitored and conserved.

The Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands are located within the boundaries of four protected areas in Georgia: the Kolkheti and Mtirala National Parks, and the Kintrishi and Kobuleti Protected Areas. Georgia applied for the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019 and this application was accepted in July 2021 at the extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee in Fuzhou, China.

President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili and Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture Levan Davitashvili announced this decision at an event held in Kolkheti National Park on 27 July.

“UNESCO’s decision to add Georgia’s unique natural sites to the World Heritage List is important not just for Georgia: it’s important for the entire region, for the Black Sea basin. It means international recognition,” Davitashvili noted. “Georgia has once again appeared on the world map as a country of distinctive biodiversity. UNESCO has confirmed that Georgia’s unique nature belongs to the whole world.”

The UNESCO decision follows years of biodiversity protection and conservation led by the Georgian Government and supported by the European Union, Germany, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United States and other international partners.

To support protected areas associated with Colchic Rainforests, UNDP helped develop ten-year management and biodiversity monitoring plans, introduced SMART patrolling technology (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) and established e-learning platforms for staff. UNDP is also helping to assess and counter the risk of plant diseases (like Chestnut blight) that endanger the entire ecosystem.

“The Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands, which survived a glacial period, present us with the opportunity (and privilege) to admire a magnificent natural system that goes back 15,000 years. Cherishing and protecting this unique ecoregion is our shared responsibility,” said UNDP Acting Head Anna Chernyshova.

“UNDP assists Georgia to integrate ecosystem services into the country’s economic and social development and introduce new models and approaches to protecting biodiversity.”

UNDP’s decade-long support to Georgia’s protected areas draws on GEF funding and on close partnerships with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, the Agency of Protected Areas and the Caucasus Nature Fund. UNDP support focuses on assisting Georgia to expand its protected areas, improve their management and ensure their financial sustainability. UNDP also helps make it possible for communities surrounding national parks to play an integral role in environmental protection and to benefit from green economic opportunities.

Kolkheti National Park is a wetland of global importance known for its biodiversity and conservation of unique species.

The wetlands are critically important for water quality and flood control

Kolkheti National Park
The first national site of Georgia, Kolkheti National Park initially received its worldwide acclaim in 1996, when Georgia joined the Ramsar Convention, the international treaty on wetlands.

Kolkheti National Park, located in the historical region of western Georgia near Poti, is a wetland of global importance, known for its biodiversity and conservation of unique species. The wetlands are critically important for water quality and flood control.

You can visit Kolkheti National Park any time of year. In the rivers, Churia and Pichori valleys, as well as on Paliastomi and Golden Lakes, you can go boating and kayaking (check in at the Visitor Center down the road for information and booking), heading across the water to visit the Kolkheti Forest and unique swamps. In Kolkheti National Park, observation towers have been set up to help those interested get a sight of more than 100 different species of migratory birds.

Sports fishing is also available, as are eco-educational tours.