Timber Risk Score: 74 / 100 in 2017. The Timber Legality Risk Assessment contains an evaluation of the risk of illegality in Georgia for five categories and 21 sub-categories of law. We found:
- Specified risk for 5 sub-categories.
- Low risk for 14 sub-categories.
- No legal requirements for 2 sub-categories.
This page provides an overview of the legality risks related to timber produced in Georgia.
Around 41% (2.8 million ha) of Georgia is covered by forests, of which:
- Approximately 18% is primary forest
- Approximately 80% is naturally regenerated forest
- Approximately 2% is planted forest.
Roundwood production totalled 0.64 million m3 in 2015. The forestry sector contributed US$ 61.4 million to the economy in 2011, which is about 0.5% of the GDP.
Risk is present in Georgian timber supply chains. The risks relate to legal rights to harvest and timber harvesting activities. If you are sourcing timber from Georgia you should take care to ensure the risks identified are not present in your supply chains, or have been sufficiently mitigated.
Score: 55 / 100 in 2021
Rank: 45 out of 180 countries in 2021
There are currently no armed conflicts in Georgia according to the Council on Foreign Relations' Global Conflict Tracker
According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program there were 3 deaths from 2010-2017
Information Gathering
Timber sources
- Find out the different sources of legal timber
- Determine which source type your timber comes from
Timber source | Description of source type |
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Permanent forest concessions |
Timber from State Forests, which are managed by the State Forest Authorities which issues concessions (Forest Use Licenses) to private enterprises. Note: This is the main source type for Georgia, from which nearly all commercial timber is derived. |
Permanent forest – state management |
Timber from natural forest use by the State Forest Authorities. Note: At present, this timber source type is not used. |
Conservation areas | Timber from clear cut logging in conservation areas. This is rarely allowed as a source of legal timber, and only through the State Forest Authorities. |
Risk Assessment
Risk assessment summary
Legal rights to harvest |
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Taxes and fees |
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Timber harvesting activities
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Third parties' rights |
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Trade and transport |
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Risk Mitigation
Mitigate the risks in your supply chain
Learn which actions we recommended to mitigate the risks associated with the timber sources from Georgia.
Mitigation recommendations
1. Fully map your supply chain
- Our supply chain mapping tool can help you do this.
2. Obtain and verify documents
- Forest Use Licence
- Forest management plan, which shall include all legally established protected areas (including species habitats)
- Governmental (Environmental Supervision Department of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection and/or National Forest Agency) monitoring reports on use of special use licenses (applies to State forests located in areas under management of the National Forest Agency)
- Governmental (Protected Areas Agency) monitoring and/or evaluation reports (applies to State forests located within protected areas under the management of the Protected Areas Agency)
3. Consult stakeholders
- Personnel involved in harvesting activities confirm that legally required protection equipment is required/provided by the organisation
4. Carry out on-site verification
- If Governmental monitoring reports on use of licences are not available (see ‘Obtain and verify documents’ (especially if primary source of timber is a “forest use special license”), then confirm that:
- harvesting takes place within limits given in the harvesting permit
- information regarding area, species, volumes and other information given in the harvesting permit are correct and within limits prescribed in the legislation
- environmental restrictions (such as requirements related to soil damage, buffer zones, retention trees, seasonal restrictions etc.) were followed
- Confirm that occupational health and safety requirements are observed
5. Conduct targeted timber testing
- Conduct timber testing on samples of purchased material to verify the species or origin of timber, where appropriate