On April 22, the world celebrates Earth Day with a focus on mobilizing local communities and raising awareness about the importance of protecting our species. The EU supported The Local Action Group (LAG) and the environmental organization CENN joined the large scale environmental campaign by assisting young eco-activists from two villages of Keda Municipality Pirveli Maisi and Merisi in their environmental initiative. Young people planted trees in a schoolyard and prepared poster presentations on topics of climate change, conservation of species, sustainable natural resource management, and other environmental issues.

The EU-supported ENPARD project is implemented by CENN in partnership with the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG), Institute of Democracy (IoD) and Austrian Institute for Regional Studies and Spatial Planning (ÖIR). The project aims at diversifying the local economic activities, improving investment climate, and empowering competitive agricultural and environmental practices in Keda Municipality via bottom-up strategic planning of rural development.

The EU is supporting agriculture and rural development in Georgia through its ENPARD Programme. Implemented since 2013 with a total budget of EUR 179.5 million, the main goal of ENPARD is to reduce rural poverty in Georgia. The first phase of ENPARD in Georgia focused on developing the potential of agriculture. The second and third phases of ENPARD focus on creating economic opportunities for rural population that go beyond agricultural activities. More information on ENPARD is available at: www.enpard.ge.