Global Conservation is co-hosting the Borjomi Summit in the Republic of Georgia, a three-day conference for Knowledge, Sharing, and Training granted to over 150 delegates from 18 developing countries across Eurasia and Eastern Europe.

The assault on nature continues unabated in most developing countries. National Parks are our last bastions to protect intact forests and wildlife habitats.

Unfortunately, few national parks in Eurasia or Eastern Europe are protected. Illegal hunting and illegal logging continue to destroy critical wildlife and habitats. Despite 30x30 pledges, new international funding is not forthcoming in the face of increasing threats, government corruption, ineffective BINGOs, and the collapse of the United Nations’ REDD+ VCS carbon markets, which are pushing National Parks to the brink of economic and ecological collapse.

The Borjomi Summit's mission is to directly protect endangered national parks, giving their leaders the tools and funding they need, which include critical training, knowledge sharing, and new sustainable finance opportunities.

“Global Conservation is 100% focused on the protection of endangered national parks in developing countries, many without any resources for patrolling, surveillance, scientific monitoring, and community protection,” said Jeff Morgan, Executive Director of Global Conservation. “Bringing together the leaders of over 30 endangered National Parks.

Co-sponsored by UNDP, GEF, CNF, and the Bank of Georgia and hosted in Georgia by the Agency of Protected Areas (APA), this 3-day Borjomi Summit is the beginning of long-term support for endangered national parks in the region, not a one-time event.

Global Conservation is already funding endangered national parks in Eurasia and Eastern Europe, protecting the last major intact forests and wildlife habitats for bears, wolf, stag deer, lynx, European mink, fox, and many other endangered species.

National Park Protection Funded by Global Conservation

• Shar Mountains National Park, Northern Macedonia (est. 2022)

• Malrovo National Park, Northern Macedonia

• Borjomi National Park, Republic of Georgia

• Racha National Park, Republic of Georgia (est. 2022)

• Carpathians National Nature Park, Ukraine

• Verkovehna National Nature Park, Ukraine

• Carpathians Biosphere Reserve, Ukraine

Western Europe has lost much of its apex and keystone species to hunting, including large and charismatic megafauna. This destruction of wildlife leads to the near-complete fragmentation of what primary forests are left. We now have a critical opportunity in the next ten years to secure the last forests and wildlife habitats of Europe for future generations.

Designed for National Park Leaders and their Protection Managers, the Borjomi Summit is Georgia’s 1st International Summit on National Park Protection and will feature keynotes by the Ambassadors of the United States and Germany, international experts, and government authorities from the U.S. National Park Service and European National Parks with the primary goal of sharing the best international practices.

Working sessions will be led by the prestigious Warner School of Colorado State University's (CSU) Center for Protected Area Management, which will be dedicated to discussions around the key pillars of protected area policy, protection, and operations, including forest and wildlife protection, governance and management, sustainable livelihoods for communities, biodiversity conservation and monitoring, and sustainable and equitable financing.

DELEGATE COUNTRIES - Eurasia and Eastern Europe:

• Albania

• Bulgaria

• Georgia

• Iran

• Macedonia

• Maldova

• Montenegro

• Romania

• Turkey

• Ukraine

For more information, go to:

Borjomi Summit 2023 Website