European Union Water Initiative Plus for Eastern Partnership Countries (EUWI+) STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (SEA) OF THE DRAFTALAZANI-IORI RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT PLAN SEA Report November 2020 2 This SEA report was prepared by the national SEA team established for the pilot project “The Application of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the Draft Alazani-Iori River Basin Management Plan” (hereinafter also the SEA pilot project): Ms. Elina Bakradze (water and soil quality aspects), Ms. Anna Rukhadze (biodiversity, habitats and protected areas), Ms. Lela Serebryakova (health related aspects), Mr. Giorgi Guliashvili (hydrology and natural hazards), Mr. Davit Darsavelidze (socio-economic aspects), Mr. Irakli Kobulia (cultural heritage aspects and GIS) and the UNECE national consultant Ms. Irma Melikishvili (the team leader also covering climate change aspects), under the guidance and supervision of the UNECE international consultant Mr. Martin Smutny. Maps: The thematic maps presented in the SEA Report are produced by Mr. Irakli Kobulia on the basis of the GIS database provided by the EUWI + programme. The SEA Report also includes maps developed in the framework of the EUWI + programme (under result 2) by the REC Caucasus, subcontractor of the EUWI+ programme. The SEA pilot project was carried out under the supervision of Mr. Alisher Mamadzhanov, the EUWI+ programme leader from UNECE with the support provided by Ms. Christine Kitzler and Mr. Alexander Belokurov, UNECE and Ms. Eliso Barnovi, the EUWI+ Country Representative in Georgia. The overall coordination of the SEA pilot project was provided by the Georgian Environmental Outlook (GEO) and its team represented by Ms. Nino Malashkhia. Acknowledgments: The SEA Pilot Project Team is grateful to the Government of Georgia, in particular, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MEPA) and its Department of Environmental Assessment and Department of Environment and Climate Change, as well as the Agency of Protected Area and the National Environmental Agency, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation, the National Statistics Office and the National Centre for Disease Control for provision of requested information and assistance. The SEA Pilot Project Team is also grateful to the EUWI+ Programme and the REC Caucasus for the fruitful cooperation. Disclaimer: The EU-funded program European Union Water Initiative Plus for Eastern Partnership Countries (EUWI+ 4 EaP) is implemented by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), both responsible for the implementation of Result 1, and an EU member states consortium comprising the Environment Agency Austria (UBA, Austria), the lead coordinator, and the International Office for Water (IOW, France), both responsible for the implementation of Results 2 and 3. This document “SEA Report - Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the draft Alazani-Iori River Basin Management Plan” was produced within the UNECE-led component of the EUWI+ with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union or the Governments of the Eastern Partnership Countries. This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of, or sovereignty over, any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries, and to the name of any territory, city or area. 3 Objectives of the SEA pilot project As Georgia has limited experience in the application of a SEA, the capacities of the main actors to apply SEA, need further development and strengthening. In view of the above, in May 2019 the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MEPA), that is the key institution responsible for the administration of the SEA legislation as well as for coordination of the SEA processes in the country, requested the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to provide the technical assistance within the frame of the European Union Water Initiative Plus (EUWI+) programme to carry out a pilot SEA for the draft Alazani-lori River Basin Management Plan (RBMP). The main objective of the UNECE’s SEA pilot project is to develop capacities of the MEPA and to build national expertise in the implementation of the SEA in the context of river basin management. In the framework of the pilot projects was developed the Scoping and SEA reports of the draft Alazani-Iori RBMP. European Union Water Initiative Plus (EUWI+) programme With financing from the European Union, the EUWI+ programme specifically supports the Eastern Partnership countries to move towards the approximation to EU acquis in the field of water management with a focus on trans-boundary river basin management. The overall objective of the project is to improve the management of water resources in the EaP countries, which is consistent with the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). One of the specific objectives of the EUWI+ in Georgia is the development of River Basins Management Plans (RBMPs) in line with the EU Water Framework Directive. In particular, the project is supporting developments of the RBMPs for the Alazani-Iori and Khrami-Debeda River Basins. 4 Contents Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 9 1. Background information ...................................................................................................................... 20 1.1. Brief overview of the legal framework for SEA in Georgia .............................................................. 20 1.2. SEA for the draft Alzani-Iori RBMP ..................................................................................................... 20 1.2.1. A brief overview of the SEA pilot process ................................................................................. 20 1.2.2. Major obstacles in conducting SEA pilot project ....................................................................... 21 1.3. Purpose of the SEA report .................................................................................................................. 22 1.4. Information on the planning authority .................................................................................................. 22 2. Introduction to the Alazani-Iori River Basin Management Plan .............................................................. 23 2.1. The content of the draft Alazani-Iori RBMP ......................................................................................... 23 2.1.1. Environmental Objectives for the Alazani-Iori RBMP ............................................................... 24 2.1.2. Programme of Measures .......................................................................................................... 26 2.1.3. Competent authorities responsible for the implementation of the Alazani-Iori RBMP .............. 29 2.2. Potential alternative measures envisaged by the strategic document ................................................ 29 2.3. The relation between the Alazani-Iori RBMP and other strategic documents ..................................... 29 3. Environmental and health baseline ........................................................................................................ 30 3.1. Introduction of the Alazani-Iori River Basin ......................................................................................... 30 3.2. Water Resources ................................................................................................................................. 32 3.2.1. Surface water resources ........................................................................................................... 32 3.2.2. Groundwater resources ............................................................................................................ 34 3.2.3. Surface water quality ................................................................................................................ 34 3.2.4. Water resources users ............................................................................................................. 35 3.2.5. Irrigation systems ..................................................................................................................... 35 3.2.6. Water reservoirs and Hydro Power Plants ............................................................................... 35 3.3. Natural Hazards .................................................................................................................................. 36 3.4. Soil ..................................................................................................................................................... 39 3.4.1. Soil pollution ............................................................................................................................. 39 3.4.2. Soil degradation ........................................................................................................................ 39 3.5. Climate change and related risks ........................................................................................................ 39 3.6. Biodiversity, habitats and protected areas .........................................................................................