IU SPEA graduate fosters environmental democracy in Georgia
Khatuna Gogaladze credits her graduate education at Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs with preparing her to manage the Aarhus Centre Georgia, which facilitates the implementation of democratic and transparent environmental policy in the republic of Georgia.
"Clear understanding of major concepts of environmental management and sustainable development, main principles of democracy and their importance for national development, as well as the role of the public sector in general, help me to bring strong arguments while communicating with different stakeholders," Gogaladze said in an interview conducted by e-mail.
Khatuna Gogaladze, left, and Matt Auer, center, lead a seminar on sustainable development.
And the Aarhus Centre draws on SPEA expertise in its ongoing efforts to work with government officials, nongovernmental organizations and the business and academic sectors to promote informed discussion of environmental policy.
This spring, Matthew Auer, professor in SPEA and dean of IU's Hutton Honors College, traveled to Georgia to lead an Aarhus Centre seminar on sustainable development. The seminar included participants from Georgia's environment, economic development, energy, agriculture, and education and science ministries.
Gogaladze, who earned a master's degree in public affairs from SPEA as an Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Scholar, has worked for the center in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi since 2008.
Georgia, which became independent in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, is located in the Southern Caucasus region on the border of Europe and Asia, sandwiched between Russia and Turkey on the eastern edge of the Black Sea. The mountainous country has a population of 4.6 million and is slightly larger than West Virginia.
"It's a fascinating place," Auer said, noting Georgia's great natural beauty and the pro-Western stance of the government -- the main road from the central airport to Tbilisi, the capital, is called George W. Bush Highway in recognition of U.S. support for Georgia's 2003 "Rose Revolution."
The Aarhus Centre Georgia was established in 2005 as a joint initiative of Georgia's Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's mission to Georgia. It resulted from the Aarhus Convention, a European agreement on environmental democracy, which was adopted in 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus, entered into force in 2001, and as of today has 44 parties. The convention connects environmental issues with human rights and asserts that the public has the right to information and participation in environmental decision-making.
But as a young democracy, Georgia still has lessons to learn about public participation, Gogaladze said. Officials often don't understand that involving the public can facilitate, rather than hinder, sound decision-making. And the public itself is not very engaged, due to political, social and other factors.
In response, the Aarhus Centre works with the government, recommending ways to strengthen legal mechanisms for empowering the public; and it works with NGOs and citizen groups to educate the public about their rights to information and participation.
Auer, the IU professor, said Georgia appears to have potential for economic growth that protects and builds on its natural environment. Its towering mountains and alpine meadows are part of a Caucasus biodiversity hotspot designated by Conservation International. Historic churches and "the finest wine industry in the former Soviet Union" add to its potential for tourism and eco-tourism.
"They have a real incentive to do sustainable development and to promote it," Auer said.
Yet Georgia lacks the oil and gas resources that have fueled economic growth in neighboring Azerbaijan, he said. And its rugged topography poses challenges to efforts to quickly develop its transportation and energy infrastructure.
Since 2004, Gogaladze said, the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili has pushed to liberalize the economy, promote foreign investment and ease restrictions on business in order to promote growth. But the effort to fast-forward development puts pressure on the environment and natural resources, she said, creating the risk of "deep and irreversible environmental problems in the long run."
"Although the importance of sustainable development is frequently declared officially, it still needs to be adequately addressed in both policy and practice," Gogaladze said. "We believe that our Centre's public-awareness campaigns, studies, recommendations, etc., may contribute to better understanding of the importance of sustainable development in different target groups, including public officials."
To learn more about the Aarhus Centre Georgia, see http://www.aarhus.ge/index.php?page=1&lang=eng.
