National Initiative Group of Georgia
NIGs’ (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) goal is to promote scientifically justified policy and decision making in the fields of Climate Change Adaptation (CCA), Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Overall Sustainable Mountain Development (SMD) throughout the Caucasus with the active involvement of academic, civil and private organizations. Main activities are: Identification of priority issues including needs and challenges; Coordination and information exchange between member organizations; Advocacy to ensure science-based decision making. Moreover, Regional Initiative Group (RIG) represented by all the national NIGs, i.e. Co-chairs of NIGs, is focused on tackling the problems at the regional level.
National Initiative Group of Georgia (NIG Georgia) is an alliance comprised of scientific, civil and private organizations interested and working among others in the fields of Disaster Risk Management (DRM), Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Sustainable Mountain Development (SMD).
NIG Georgia was established in terms of the project Strengthening the Climate Adaptation Capacities in the South Caucasus (SCAC) implemented by the Caucasus Network for Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions (Sustainable Caucasus). Currently, NIG Georgia unites more than 20 representatives from various academic, non-governmental and/or private organizations and individual members.
NIG Georgia is responsible for advocacy of the science-policy interface strengthening and C-RRA promotion and selected by the first meeting of NIG Georgia topic for the next years’ work is the spatial planning concept sophistication and integrated balanced regional development in Georgia. NIG Georgia elected first co-chairs for the following two years: Joseph Salukvadze (academic from Tbilisi State University) and Giorgi Gotsiridze (practitioner from GeoGraphic).
NIG Georgia members are as follows: Ilia State University (IliaUni) and its institutes like as the Institute of Earth Science and Seismic Monitoring Center, as well as Institute of Ecology; the Tbilisi State University and its institutes like as Institute of Geography and the International School of Economics (ISET), the Department of Human Geography, the Department of Physical Geography, and others particularly; Tbilisi Technical University and its institutes like the Water Institute and the Faculty of Energy of Technical University; the Greens movement Georgia/Friends of Earth; the Caucasus Environmental NGOs Network (CENN); The Biological Farming Association ELKANA; the Energy Efficiency Centre (Covenant of Mayors Representative); the Georgian Environmental Outlook (GEO); the Mountain Development Centre, the Environment and Development- (ED), the Association Rural Development for Future Georgia (RDFG)/DRR Center; the Georgian Eco-tourism Association; the Georgian Insurance Association; GIS and RS Consulting Center; GeoGraphic; Geoland; Red Cross Georgia; ICOMOS Georgia; Fair Trees Fund; National Geographic Georgia; Georgian Heritage Crafts Association (GILDIA).
Co-Chars:
Joseph Salukvadze, PhD since 1985, is a professor at the department of Human Geography, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Tbilisi State University (TSU) and a visiting professor in the International Masters’ Program ‘Land Management and Land Tenure’ at the Technical University of Munich (2002-2018). In 1991-92 he was the Swedish Institute research fellow in Stockholm and Lund Universities, Sweden. In 1998-99 – Fulbright Scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA. In 2014-2017 he was a Vice-rector of TSU; in 2008-2016 - a Vice-president of Geographic Society of Georgia. As an expert of urban and land policy issues he systematically co-operates with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UN Habitat and other international agencies such as KFW, GIZ, USAID. He is a member of editorial boards of 3 international scientific journals, author and editor of 3 books and more than 30 publications. Fields of scientific interest: urban studies, housing and land policy.
George Gotsiridze PhD in Geography (Geomorphology, Paleogeography and Cartography), since 2007 till present GIS and RS Consulting Center Geographic Director. Remote Sensing Manager at Tbilisi State University, Saarland University, Georgian Academy of Science, Sweden survey AB, Shroghl GmbH. Former land manager at State Department of Land Management, Regional and District offices, Cadastral Division of Saarbrucken, National Land Survey of Sweden, State Enterprise of Land Cadastral and Registration of Lithuania, Tbilisi Land Management Training Center. He is Masters of Mountaineering (TSU,GMC,GMF). In 2004-2007 he was project manager of Georgian Government and Swedish International Agency (SIDA) project: “Support to the Development of Land Cadastre and Land Information System in Georgia”. As an expert recently participated in elaboration of Spatial Territorial Planning Documentation and for Kazbegi Municipality and its communities as well as in Elaboration and Feasibility Study of Alternative Visions for Samgori-Vazisubani, Akhmeteli-Temka and Sameba-Makhata Mount Urban (Spatial) Cable Transit Development, in elaboration of Spatial Territorial Development Management documentation for Mskheta, Stepantsminda Land Use Master Plan Development and many other projects.