Preserving Khada valley
The 23-kilometer Kvesheti-Kobi road will serve as a part of the North-South corridor and cost Georgia $558.6 million, funded mostly through foreign debt. The highway will ruin the Khada valley, its superb natural landscape and cultural heritage. Unique in Georgia it contains around sixty medieval towers, the original route of the Georgian Military Highway, several villages at 1,900 meters, functioning churches and shrines, as well as a wealth of unexplored archaeological and ethnographic sites. Khada's key architectural's monuments date from 10th and 11th century, but cover periods throughout the Middle Ages. The construction will have a devastating impact on the local inhabitants, environment and any hope for ecotourism development. There are also serious concerns that the seismic and geological risks were not properly assessed for its 9 km long tunnel. The project is being promoted as part of climate adaptation package, but in fact will facilitate the numerous natural hazards (landslides, erosion, avalanches and etc).
Despite numerous protests and lawsuits from locals, and professionals, the project has already started. Furthermore, unauthorized construction of a workers' residence is now being carried out just 50 meters from St. George's Church in Naghvarevi, directly threatening the Aragvi valley's most important architectural monument. This fact further exposes the danger for Khada's rich historical-cultural heritage, especially after the construction of 6 bridges, 5 tunnels, additional secondary roads, technical buildings and large waste disposal sites.
Official attitude to the project is revealed in a letter quoting one of the project funders (The Asian Development Bank) as saying to locals, "do you really believe that project is done for Khada?!". Locals have repeatedly claimed "the project ignores the needs of villagers and intends to sacrifice the entire the Khada Valley, which we will not allow."
The Khada Valley, just an hour and a half drive from Tbilisi, is accessible almost all year. It is already like an open-air museum and is perfectly suited for eco-tourism and as an educational venue. But instead the state is going $475 million into debt to international development banks as well as spending $83.6 million from the Georgian budget for a highly doubtful large-scale infrastructure project. Its low economic attractiveness, negative environmental and social impact, easily outweigh any economic benefits for the country.
Based on the reasons discussed above, we demand:
- An immediate halt of the current Kvesheti-Kobi road construction (including preparatory) works.
- To find a sound alternative to the Khada Valley in this section of the North-South Corridor, with proper public consultation, thus preventing the destruction of Georgia's unique cultural heritage, nature (biodiversity), as well as draining the valley's population.
- After selecting a sound alternative, to carry out proper preliminary studies before any construction (including preparatory) begins - with full awareness of possible negative impacts on locals, cultural monuments, archeological artifacts and biodiversity.
- To establish Protected Landscape (IUCN category V) in the Khada Valley. The Protected Landscape will preserve the natural and cultural environment which was formed by the interaction of people and nature over time and will help to sustainably develop its eco-tourism along with traditional agricultural activities.
- To ask the Government of Georgia to submit the Khada Valley for consideration for the UNESCO World Heritage List.
