At a sitting of the Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Committee, members approved the establishment of the Rioni Managed Reserve.

The committee discussed, in the I reading and under an expedited procedure, the draft law on the Establishment and Management of the Kolkheti Protected Areas.

The government’s legislative initiative was presented by Deputy Environmental Protection and Agriculture Minister Zurab Ezugbaia.

The main objective of the amendments is to establish the Rioni Managed Reserve in the municipality of Samtredia for the breeding and protection of sturgeon species. The Rioni River is one of the few rivers in the world where sturgeon spawning grounds are still preserved and where the species continue to reproduce in their natural environment.

The territory of the reserve will cover 554 hectares and includes the section of the Rioni River where sturgeon spawning takes place.