evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

Tbilisi's Vanishing Green Space and Its 677-Hectare Reforestation Response

Georgia · Tbilisi · See the Georgia profile · See the Tbilisi profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 89% 27/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Tbilisi's per-capita green space fell from 5.6m² to 1.3m² (2010-2018), well below EU norms. The city and a development fund answered with a 2020 memorandum to reforest 677 hillside hectares, though independent surveys show published results have yet to follow.

5.6 to 1.3 m²/person
Per-capita green space (2010-2018)
677 hectares
Reforestation commitment area (2020 memorandum)
99 %
Residents saying city needs more parks
93 %
Residents who would visit more with nearby park
Tbilisi's Vanishing Green Space and Its 677-Hectare Reforestation Response

Details

Promoter
Tbilisi City Hall (Mayor's Office) & Development and Environment Fund, monitored independently by ISET Policy Institute
Period
2018–ongoing (memorandum signed 2020)
Keywords
urban reforestation, green space policy, hillside afforestation, civic engagement

Context

Independent research by Georgia's ISET Policy Institute found Tbilisi's per-capita green space collapsed from 5.6 m² in 2010 to just 1.3 m² in 2018 — far below the 10-15 m² European benchmark — as the capital absorbed 8% population growth in a decade and issued 48% of the country's construction permits (2019 data).

Activities

In 2020 the Tbilisi Mayor's Office signed a memorandum with the Development and Environment Fund committing to reforest 677 hectares bordering the central districts and the Udzo Mountain area to help control slope erosion above the city.

Results

ISET-PI's own resident survey (n=224) found strong latent demand — 99% said the city needs more parks and 93% said they would visit more often if a park were nearby — but a mixed public reaction (52% negative, 48% positive) to the flagship Tbilisi Central Park redesign.

Conclusions

As of the most recent independent reporting, the reforestation memorandum's hectare commitment has not been matched by published, audited results on canopy establishment or survival, so its ecological impact remains a stated commitment rather than a measured outcome.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Memorandum signed 2020; no completion date for reforestation stated in sources.
Staffing & skills
Tbilisi Mayor's Office (City Hall), Development and Environment Fund, Independent monitoring by ISET Policy Institute

Conditions for success

  • Formal memorandum between city government and development fund committing to reforestation
  • Public demand for green space (99% survey support)

Common failure modes

  • No published, audited results on canopy establishment or survival to date
  • Mixed public reaction (52% negative) to the flagship Central Park redesign, reflecting concern that non-green uses could crowd out green space

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

Similar practices you may find useful