First of all, the population will be informed about the goals and objectives of the project, the planned works and expected benefits. For this purpose, information meetings will be organized with the village trustee and specialists, teachers, youth and shepherds. Trainings and environmental activities will be held, on the spot they will learn about the biodiversity of Kolkheti National Park, ways to preserve it and its importance in strengthening the tourism sector. They will get acquainted with the recommendations proposed by the invited experts during the assessment of pastures. They will be directly involved in the mechanical processes of pasture improvement, they will get to know the principles of rotational grazing, the impact on both productivity and the preservation of biodiversity. They will get acquainted with the rules of using the electric shepherd.
Gender balance will be preserved in the project, which is expressed by their equal involvement in information campaigns, trainings/ seminars, as well as in field work envisaged by the project. While drafting the project, we consulted with community representatives who hold high positions in local self-government and are women. This community is notable for the fact that the majority of the village, the assistant of the mayor's representative, the head of the public school and kindergarten are women. Women are also actively involved in agriculture. as well as end users of the projects both men and women will equally benefit with project results , they are shepherds and their family members
Inovative Financial Mechanisms
In the strategy of knowledge management, we consider well-trained groups of people who will be equipped not only with knowledge and the necessary informational literature, but also will have developed the necessary skills to be independent and involved in public processes. An initiative group will be created from the group of trained young people, which will be a human resource for raising all problems and will be involved in the decision-making process. The community will be motivated to create a community organization to prepare projects to solve the identified problems. Association "DEA" has been cooperating with this community for a long time and will continue to work for 5 years to keep the residents of the community motivated and active.
Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods
Introduction of sustainable management of pastures using electric shepherd will improve the productivity of livestock, protect them from predators and from invasive and infectious diseases, which will avoid excessive expenses for the population, the increase in livestock productivity will increase the income of the population accordingly. Cultivated areas will also be protected from livestock damage. The only sources of income for this community are cereals, dairy products and bees. Thus, protecting livestock and cultivated areas is a way for them to maintain the amount of production. The sanitary-hygienic situation in the mentioned areas will be improved, which will give more opportunities to the mentioned community to develop in the direction of agro and eco-tourism.
Project sustainability
Kolkheti National Park has benefited from the fact that their territory will be protected, since the cattle of local shepherds will no longer graze uncontrollably in the park area. And we will be able to preserve the biodiversity of Kolkheti Park, the biodiversity conservation of Kolkheti National Park is definitely a long-term benefit of the project. Also, the local population will receive economic benefits due to the improvement of pasture quality.
Policy Impact
N/A
Notable Community Participation
One of the target groups in the project is young people, for whom many activities are planned, which will contribute to raising their environmental awareness on climate change mitigation/adaptation, on the role of sustainable pasture management in biodiversity conservation. The youth groups will be involved in all the theoretical and field activities provided by the project, such as trainings/seminars, cleaning of selected areas, tidying up with mechanical methods, and will be involved in the implementation of recommendations made by experts on pasture management. They will spread information about the started project in the community, they will be involved in the installation process of the electric shepherd. An initiative group will be created, which will be constantly involved in the project.
Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment
The most active among the trained young people and the one with a harmonious attitude towards the environment will be the mobilizer of the group, who will be the communicator between the project leader and the population, information materials will be prepared and distributed in the village, the information will be covered through the media. The activities planned together with the Kolkheti National Park administration will play a special role in raising the awareness of the population. This will be covered on the Facebook pages of the National Park, City Hall and Association "DEA". A television program will be prepared, where local residents will participate along with experts and the project implementation group. besides , final results presentation event will be organized for projects stakeholders and wider audience for information and result sharing.
Capacity - Building Component
The need for the opportunity is to raise the awareness of the population on the importance of fertile pastures and the necessary measures for this purpose, the role of sustainable land management on the yield of agricultural products, as well as the need to maintain biodiversity and the role of the population in these processes. For this purpose, trainings, both theoretical and integrated, are planned in Kolkheti National Park. Trainings on sustainable management of pastures and the role of pastures in increasing livestock productivity, beneficiaries will be equipped with appropriate information materials, branded T-shirts, which is a kind of motivator for young people. The acquired knowledge will increase the possibilities for the initiative groups to become community organizations and to make their own decisions to raise and solve the problem in the community.
Project Results
Using efficient management of pastures, it was possible to preserve biodiversity, improve the quality of pastures (1 ha), which was reflected in livestock productivity.
10 families received an economic benefit, whose cattle are protected from predators;
Biodiversity of Kolkheti National Park is protected from uncontrolled grazing
the youth of the local community are actively involved in the management of the natural resources of their village
Relevant responsible self-governing units will be activated in cooperation with the project.
After the completion of the project, the electric shepherd (right to care) will be transferred to the municipality, in the future the municipality plans to install the electric shepherd on other plots and introduce the practice of rotational grazing.
