კონფერენცია

∘ Khatuna Todua ∘
THE PROBLEMS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF GEORGIA AT THE PRESENT STAGE

Summary

The Sustainable Development Goals promote eradication of poverty and hunger, combat inequalities, protection of human rights ensure lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources, address climate change. The goals should also create conditions for sustainable, inclusive and sustained economic growth, prosperity and decent work for all.

Georgia is among the first countries which committed to the sustainable development agenda soon after the adoption of the UN resolution in 2015 and started integrating them in its domestic policy agenda.

Sustainable development means that the balance between economic, social and environmental requirements must be observed. This is not an unachievable goal. This can be accomplished under market economy conditions. The only thing necessary is to put in place strictly defined regulations for the market economy.

One of the most important aspects of sustainable development is protection of biodiversity. This activity consists of many components the most important of which are: sustainable management of wild nature and creation of territories protected from human activity.

In Georgia protected territories occupy 8% of the country's total territory. These are 53 territories of different protection status. Still protected territories are not used for biodiversity protection but for tourism development.

Protection of forests is one of the important components of biodiversity protection. In Georgia illegal and uncontrolled felling of woods has been going on for many years. As a result, a big part of forest resources has been destroyed.

There are still other certain needs to be addressed in order to move forward with the successful implementation of Sustainable Development Goals in Georgia. A challenge is related to public awareness about the SDGs in Georgia. The awareness of stakeholders and the public on Sustainable Development Goals is low, which creates a gap for public ownership and oversight. Furthermore, specific groups such as the youth, private sector and academia are not properly informed about the international and domestic developments that take place around SDGs.

In order to increase the public ownership on the national activities related to SDGs, it is vital to empower specific target groups with sufficient information and skills that will at a later stage translate into tangible input. One of the main obstacles for sustainable development is poverty. This problem cannot be solved only by providing monetary assistance to poor people. It is necessary to do much more, including access to employment, dwelling, healthcare, communication and information services, education and skills development.

The main social assistance mechanisms are the public pension schemes. Although retirement pensions as well as assistances allocated for people with special needs are quite limited and can finance only part of their needs.

Unemployment is a very severe problem while the government's assistance in solving this problem is minimal. There is no public institution responsible for helping people to find jobs.

In Georgia the fields important for sustainable development are either not regulated or weekly regulated.

It is expedient for Georgia to implement economic reforms taking into account environmental and social problems.

Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University Paata Gugushvili Institute of Economics International Scientific C O N F E R E N C E S "ECONOMY – XXI CENTURY"

E ISSN 2587 - 4691	∘ Khatuna Todua ∘ THE PROBLEMS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF GEORGIA AT THE PRESENT STAGE Summary The Sustainable Development Goals promote eradication of poverty and hunger, combat inequalities, protection of human rights ensure lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources, address climate change. The goals should also create conditions for sustainable, inclusive and sustained economic growth, prosperity and decent work for all. Georgia is among the first countries which committed to the sustainable development agenda soon after the adoption of the UN resolution in 2015 and started integrating them in its domestic policy agenda. Sustainable development means that the balance between economic, social and environmental requirements must be observed. This is not an unachievable goal. This can be accomplished under market economy conditions. The only thing necessary is to put in place strictly defined regulations for the market economy. One of the most important aspects of sustainable development is protection of biodiversity. This activity consists of many components the most important of which are: sustainable management of wild nature and creation of territories protected from human activity. In Georgia protected territories occupy 8% of the country's total territory. These are 53 territories of different protection status. Still protected territories are not used for biodiversity protection but for tourism development. Protection of forests is one of the important components of biodiversity protection. In Georgia illegal and uncontrolled felling of woods has been going on for many years. As a result, a big part of forest resources has been destroyed. There are still other certain needs to be addressed in order to move forward with the successful implementation of Sustainable Development Goals in Georgia. A challenge is related to public awareness about the SDGs in Georgia. The awareness of stakeholders and the public on Sustainable Development Goals is low, which creates a gap for public ownership and oversight. Furthermore, specific groups such as the youth, private sector and academia are not properly informed about the international and domestic developments that take place around SDGs. In order to increase the public ownership on the national activities related to SDGs, it is vital to empower specific target groups with sufficient information and skills that will at a later stage translate into tangible input. One of the main obstacles for sustainable development is poverty. This problem cannot be solved only by providing monetary assistance to poor people. It is necessary to do much more, including access to employment, dwelling, healthcare, communication and information services, education and skills development. The main social assistance mechanisms are the public pension schemes. Although retirement pensions as well as assistances allocated for people with special needs are quite limited and can finance only part of their needs. Unemployment is a very severe problem while the government's assistance in solving this problem is minimal. There is no public institution responsible for helping people to find jobs. In Georgia the fields important for sustainable development are either not regulated or weekly regulated. It is expedient for Georgia to implement economic reforms taking into account environmental and social problems.