What are environmental load norms?

Maximum permissible norms of the use of natural ecosystems, including resource use quotas; they are developed and approved by the ministry once every 5 years.

Where are quotas for individual species set?

At regional and local levels, while general resource use quotas are set at the state level under the principles of sustainable development.

Why is a licence required for removal from the environment?

Because removal is strictly limited and takes place only on the basis of a licence; the exception is the timber preparation auction of the forest management body.

Where are species under threat of extinction registered?

In the Red List and the Red Book of Georgia; the procedure for their compilation is determined by legislation.

Protected Species Law in Tbilisi, Georgia

Q: Which actions are prohibited with respect to the species?

Any action that may harm the world of wild plants and animals, habitats, breeding areas and migration routes.

The three pillars of protected species law

Protected species law in the Georgian system rests on three interconnected norms: environmental load norms and quotas, the licensing of wild flora and fauna, and the Red List and the Red Book. Together these instruments answer the question: to what extent, how and for which species use is permitted.

Environmental load norms and quotas

In the use and development of natural ecosystems, landscapes and other territories, maximum permissible norms of their load are established. These norms include quotas for the use of natural resources, which are set at the state level taking into account the principles of sustainable development; quotas for the use of individual species of natural resources are set at regional and local levels. The ministry develops and approves the environmental load norms once every 5 years, by the statute on environmental load norms. The idea of the quota is simple: the use of a species is inadmissible in a volume exceeding its self-reproduction.

The two-tier quota system has special practical significance: at the state level general resource use quotas are set in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, while the use of individual species is addressed at the regional and local levels — thus the legislator reconciles national policy with local specifics. The five-year cycle by which the ministry develops and approves the norms is also a renewal mechanism: changes in natural conditions may cause a review of quotas, and activity planning must take this horizon into account.

Licensed use and prohibitions

For the self-reproduction of wild plant and animal resources and the maintenance of biodiversity, their removal from the environment is strictly limited and subject to licensing — apart from the granting of the right to prepare timber by auction through the forest management body under the Forest Code. The licence completes the quota at the level of the specific operation: the quota represents the ceiling, and the licence the legal means of acting within that ceiling.

At the same time, any action that may harm the world of wild plants and animals, habitats, breeding areas and migration routes is prohibited. This norm is broader than the licensing framework — it can also affect activity that does not directly involve removal but damages the habitat. The rules of protection and use of wild flora and fauna are established by Georgian legislation. The relationship between licence and quota is shown in the text of the law itself: removal is strictly limited and subject to licensing — limitation points to the quantitative ceiling, licensing to the procedural assessment. Together they mean that the use of a species is lawful only if it satisfies both the conditions of the ceiling and of authorization. The prohibition stands as a third layer between the two and is unconditional: harm to habitats, breeding areas and migration routes is justified neither by a quota nor by a licence.

Protected Species Law