The Golden Fleece in trouble - the endangering of the Kolkheti peatlands ( Georgia )

by Matthias Krebs & Hans Joosten

“As to the inhabitants of Phasis, their country is fenny, warm, humid, and wooded; copious and severe rains occur there at all seasons; and the life of the inhabitants is spent among the fens; for their dwellings are constructed of wood and reeds, and are erected amidst the waters”

Hippokrates (460 – 375 BC):

On Airs, Waters, and Places

http://herodot.georgehinge.com/aer.html

The peatlands of the Kolkheti lowland (in ancient times called Phasis) comprise the major part of the peatlands of Georgia (Kobulija 1974). They consist of approximately 11,000 ha of open peatland and 23,000 ha of peat swamp forests. The diversity of peatlands and partly still pristine mires in this ancient cultural landscape is unique (Joosten et al. 2003). The abundant and rich peatland cover can adequately be described as the natural ‘Golden Fleece’ of Kolkheti, after the old legend of Jason and his Argonauts who had to retrieve the fleece of a wonder-working golden ram, that was in the possession of the mighty king Aeetes of Kolchis and guarded by a formidable dragon (Lordkipadnidze 2001). Jason only succeeded in his undertaking because Medea, the oldest daugther of king Aeetes, fell in love with him and helped him by betraying her father and killing and dismembering her brother.

The peatland Golden Fleece of Georgia is currently being damaged and threatened to be stolen by new Jasons, helped by new Medeas. The 2008 IMCG field excursion and General Assembly is planned to be held in Georgia . Here we present an overview of recent developments as a preparation to what we might expect to find.

Human impact

The millennia long joint history of humans and peatlands in the Kolkheti lowlands is not only evidenced by many historical Greek records, but also by the abundance of archaeological findings in and around the mires (e.g. Vickers & Kakhidze 2004). Large-scale destructive human impact on the Kolkheti mires started at the end of the 19th century. Especially since the collapse of Soviet Union the pressure on the Kolkheti lowland rapidly increased (Joosten et al. 2003).

In the last years the economical situation is slowly improving, but the threats on the peatlands are still present (see Joosten et al. 2003) and even increasing. The government of Georgia is understandably focussing on economic development and pays less attention to environmental regulations and gives little priority to environmental sustainability. Also the actual reorganisation of the government has not contributed to an efficient institutional structure of the Ministry of Environment (MOE).

Under such conditions, where the regulatory framework of land use is weak and a consistent masterplan is missing, conflicts between economic and environmental objectives can easily develop.

Kulevi terminal

One example is the construction of the Black Sea oil terminal close to the settlement Kulevi at the Black Sea coast. The area it occupies and the infrastructure it requires, including a deep water navigation channel for tankers and a railway for land transport, destroy and damage areas of global importance. These damaging activities also take place in areas that are designated as the Kolkheti National Park (KNP) and as the Central Kolkheti Wetlands Ramsar Site (N°893). The government justifies its choices with “urgent national interests”.

The construction of the terminal is one of the largest projects in Georgia . It has an investment volume of USD 1 billion and involves a staff of 1500 people during construction and 600 persons for continued exploitation. In September 1999 a presidential decree authorized the construction of the oil terminal by Terminal 2000 Ltd, a partnership created between Argomar Oil Ltd (at that time registered in Cyprus ) and Georgian Railways (Kochladze 2002, Rimple 2005). The construction work started without the required environmental and construction permits (such as an Environmental Impact Assessment EIA). In September 2001 the work suddenly stopped because of financial problems. In September 2004, a renewed start was made with as main investor the Black Sea Terminal Ltd (a company of Georgian investors lead by Badri Patarkazishvili) and an international consortium including the former main investor Argomar Oil Ltd. In spite of it being a huge project, not much is known about the investors behind the project and details remain unexplained. Argomar Oil Ltd was recently registered in Austria , but is meanwhile again in liquidation (www.compnet.at/html/index394.html [05.04.2006]).

The operational phase shall start in September 2006. The complex will occupy about 100 ha for oil product storage, loading, and shipping facilities (Salathé 2005). 19 oil tanks of 20,000 m³ each will store the oil and oil products (e.g. bitumen, mazud, diesel, petrol) that Chevron and other oil companies will supply by railway from Azerbaijan , Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan . In Kulevi the oil will be shipped into huge tankers for further export via the Black Sea with an annual volume of 20 to 30 million tonnes. The necessary facilities at the terminal area are currently under construction with more than 70% of the tank structures already in place and substantial works in altering the estuary of the river already carried out (Salathé 2005). Plans exist to also handle liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in future, but no further information exists about the construction of gas pipelines.

 

   

The port under construction is situated in the mouth of the Khobistskali river. Its expanse of 300 x 800 m and its depth of 28m destroy the natural estuary as well as parts of the Churia peatland that is part of the Kolkheti National Park and Ramsar Site. Own observations in October 2005 revealed that damage from the port construction works already extend 1000m from the coast upstream parallel to the river.

The port will comprise three loading places for tankers with storage capacities of 100,000 and 65,000 tonnes and for smaller ships. Kulevi port will be one of the deepest ports in the Black Sea. For the huge tankers to access the port, a 28 m deep water navigation channel has to be dredged inside the marine part of the Kolkheti National Park and Ramsar Site.

Many questions remain. How will the terminal pay the high operational costs? Could a link exist between the terminal construction and the local oil fields close to Supsa (i.e. within the KNP) or in the Chaladidi region, that were explored in the 1960s and exploited till the beginning of the 1970s and whose exploitation stopped for unknown reasons?

Railway construction

Another construction that infringes on Georgian environmental laws, World Bank agreements, and the Ramsar Convention is the establishment of a railway for oil transport to connect existing infrastructure with the Kulevi terminal (Rimple 2005). The new 12.5 km long railway will start from an existing track close to the city of Poti (Salathé 2005) and run along the border of the KNP. Whether it will indeed cross the National Park is unclear, as the demarcation of the park boundaries in that part of the National Park is under revision...

Compensation

In August 2005 the terminal construction and the possible damage to the Ramsar Sites were focus of the Ramsar Advisory Mission No. 54, that pointed to the failing environmental investigations and that expressed the necessity of a close cooperation between the Ramsar Secretary and the World Bank as advisers and the Ministry of Environment as control authority (Salathé 2005). The impairment of the Ramsar site will also require studies how and where the damage can be compensated. Endangered ecosystems can only be conserved by an effective and powerful nature protection system like the Kolkheti National Park. Long-term support of the National Park could be made available through the establishment of a specific Heritage Fund, financed by the Black Sea Terminal Ltd and managed by wetland and marine experts and representatives of the Government (MOE), the Black Sea Terminal Ltd., and environmental NGOs (Salathé 2005).

The oil terminal has engaged two firms to complete the missing environmental investigations. Zenith Gamma Consultants works out the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the oil spill monitoring during terminal construction and operation, whereas Acta Consultants studies the options for wetland compensation under the Ramsar Convention. The reports to the Ministry of Environment of Zenith Gamma were unsatisfactory (Salathé 2005), a detailed EIA for the terminal’s marine works and a mitigation plan are still missing.

Peat extraction

Despite its status as National Park and Ramsar site, also the largest peatland of Kolkheti, the largely pristine and highly valuable Imnati mire, is threatened. After eager eyes from the Middle East, lately a Danish peat company is exploring the perspectives to extract peat from this area. The company tries to make its plans politically attractive by promising local employment in the production of growing media. This mire, however, is one of the two globally identified Sphagnum percolation bogs (Haberl et al. 2006) and peat extraction should be out of the question.

The largely pristine and highly valuable Imnati mire, one of two Sphagnum percolation bogs thus far identified world-wide

Road construction

The second Sphagnum percolation bog Ispani 2 (Kaffke et al. 2000) situated in the South of the Kolkheti lowland in the Kobuleti Managed Reserve is threatened by road construction close to the peatland (Matchutadze & Krebs 2003). The plans are still on the agenda of the Ministry for Construction and only not implemented because of missing finances. Which effects the road will have on the peatland is unclear. That’s why an EIA is required and alternative tracks must be identified to prevent damage to this worldwide unique piece of Georgian nature.

Future developments

These examples show that – in spite of their conservation status - unique peatlands all over the Kolkheti lowland are in acute danger. The good work of the Georgian Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme (GICMP, financed by World Bank/GEF) in implementing the Kolkheti National Park and the Kobuleti Nature Reserve will be jeopardized, if short-sighted and obscure economic interests continue to have higher priority than unique ecosystems of national and international importance.

Some keystones and key issues for future developments include:

-                     The Law for the Establishment and Management of Kolkheti Protected Areas has passed the Parliament. After registration by the Ministry of Justice, the KNP will have the status of a Legal Body of Public Law giving it more opportunities to acquire revenues.

-                     Ms. Sophiko Akhobadze, Deputy Minister of Environment of Georgia, is now member of the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention for the period 2005-2008.

-                     The GICMP will run out in June 2006. A good strategy is needed to guarantee the continuation of adequate management of the protected areas and to ensure that the accumulated expertise is maintained and further developed.

-                     The regulatory framework of a land use master plan is needed to prevent further incoherencies and potential environmental disasters (Salathé 2005).

-                     The Ministry of Environment has to ensure that the environmental permitting conditions for construction works like the Kulevi railway are kept.

-                     An adequate compensation package for the damage done has to be developed and implemented.

-                     Special attention has to be paid to the establishment of buffer zones around the National Park and Nature Reserve, where traditional human uses can be continued at sustainable levels (Salathé 2005).

-                     The perspectives of Sphagnum farming as a new sustainable and adapted activity in the surroundings of the reserves should be studied to combine economic and environmental interests (Krebs & Gaudig 2005, Haberl et al. 2006).

The future of the Golden Fleece of Georgia is now at a critical point. Steps to protect the unique peatland heritage have been taken, but myopic economic interests supported by an intransparent locale are concurrently counteracting the tender development towards ecological and economic sustainability.

The question is, what will be in 2008? Will Georgia continue sacrificing its peatlands for short-sighted economic profits and follow the regrettable example of Western Europe that destroyed over 95 % of its mires (Joosten & Clark 2002)?

Or will the mighty Georgian kings and formidable Ramsar dragons be able to withstand the stinginess of the modern Jasons and the treacherousness of the modern Medeas and encourage socio-economic development that incorporates the unconditional protection of the Kolkheti Golden Fleece?...

References

Haberl, A., Kahrmann, M., Krebs, M., Matchutadze, I. & Joosten, H. (2006): The Imnati mire in the Kolkheti lowland ( Georgia ), Peatlands International 2006/1, in press.

Joosten, H. & Clarke, D. (2002): Wise use of mires and peatlands – Background and principles including a framework for decision-making, International Mire Conservation Group / International Peat Society, 304 p.

Joosten, H., Kaffke, A. & Matchutadze, I. (2003): The mires of the Kolkheti lowlands ( Georgia ), International Mire Conservation Group Newsletter 2003/3, S.19-23.

Kaffke, A., Couwenberg, J., Joosten, H., Matchutadze, I. & Schulz, J. (2000): Ispani II: the world’s first percolation bog, In: Québec 2000 Millenium Wetland Event, Program with Abstracts, p. 487.

Kobulija, G.S. (1974). Osuschenie i osvoenie kokhidskoi nismennosti, kratkii otscherk. Metsniereba, Tbilisi, p.142.

Kochladze, M. (2002): Pipeline dreams, The World Bank, Oil development and Environmental Protection in Georgia, After the Wall, vol. 23, no. 5. http://multinationalmonitor.org/mm2002/02may/may02corp3.html [06.04.2006].

Krebs, M. & Gaudig, G. (2005): Torfmoos (Sphagnum) als nachwachsender Rohstoff - Untersuchungen zur Maximierung der Produktivität von Sphagnum papillosum im Regendurchströmungsmoor Ispani 2 (Georgien). Telma 35: 171-190.

Lordkipadnidze, O. 2001. The Golden Fleece: myth, euhemeristic explanation and archaeology. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 20: 1-38.

Matchutadze, I. & M. Krebs (2003): News from Georgia - Ispani threatened by road construction, International Mire Conservation Group Newsletter 2003/3: 36.

Rimple, P. (2005): Georgia : Pissing in the Wetlands. www.diacritica.com/sobaka/newswire/2005/07/0718005a.html, visited: 06.04.2006.

Salathé, T. (2005): Ramsar Advisory Missions: No. 54, Georgia , Central Kolkheti Wetlands. www.ramsar.org/ram/ram_rpt_54e.htm [06.04.2006].

Vickers, M. & Kakhidze, A. (2004). Pichvnari 1: Results of excavations conducted by the Joint British-Georgian Expedition 1998-2002. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and the Batumi Archaeological Museum, Batumi.