Outlook on Climate Change Adaptation in the South Caucasus Mountains

Mental disorders and traumas also seem to be more prevalent in areas that are exposed to extreme events. The percentage of people with mental disorders in Adjara, an area prone to natural disasters, for example, is 13 per cent higher than the national average. When only looking at children, that number is 58 per cent higher than the national average. Similar findings have been recorded in Upper Svaneti, an area also highly exposed to natural disasters (MoENRP 2015). In addition to having higher exposure to natural disasters, lower access to healthcare, poor household constructions and higher poverty rates make mountain communities even more vulnerable to such events (CENN and ITC 2012; MoENRP 2015). Since the 1980s, natural disasters alone have forced tens of thousands of people in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan to move away from their homes, either temporarily or permanently (Lyle 2012; CENN 2013a, CENN 2013b, CENN 2013c). The issue of environmental migrants or eco-migrants (i.e., people who are displaced due to natural hazards or environmental degradation) has increasingly caught the attention of the global community, with the recognition that climate change will increase this phenomenon. The first recognised case of eco- migrants in Georgia was in the 1980s when two severe landslides displaced approximately 40,000 people in the regions of Adjara andSvaneti (CENN2013a).There are currently 11,000 families in Georgia that need to be resettled urgently, but the annual government budget is only sufficient to resettle 100 families per year (CENN 2013a). It is expected that climate-induced natural disasters, as well as the gradual degradation of natural resources (drought, desertification, water availability) due to climate change and human pressure, will increase the displacement of people in the region as a high percentage of the region’s population live in hazard-prone areas. In Armenia alone, nearly half a million people live in areas that are at risk of landslides.

Rate of population below the poverty line in Georgia by districts and big cities in 2014

Rate (%)

Women

1

No data 45 - 50 40 - 45 35 - 40 30 - 35 25 - 30 20 - 25 15 - 20 10 - 15

3

6

Abkhazia

4

47

Samegrelo- Zemo Svaneti

Mestia

Sokhumi

5

40

Racha-Lechkhumi- Kvemo Svaneti

41

46 44 49

2

42

36

Ambrolauri

35

Zugdidi

18

39

67

Mtskheta- Mtianeti

50

23

26

22

19

45 48

Tskhinvali

16

21

20 43

Poti

Kutaisi

34

25

38

33

13

Shida Kartli

24

Guria

Imereti

12

17

Telavi

14

66

29

Ozurgeti

Gori

65

15

Mtskheta

64

30

10

55

63

37

28

Batumi

Adjara

51

Akhaltsikhe

Tbilisi

Kakheti

9

59

7 11

62

32

8

31

53 54 52

61

Rustavi

Samtskhe- Javakheti

1

Kvemo Kartli

60

27

58

57

3

6

56

Abkhazia

4

Border of occupied territories

47

Samegrelo- Zemo Svaneti

Mestia

Sokhumi

5

Men

40

Abkhazia Gagra Gali

Racha-Lechkhumi- Kvemo Svaneti

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

41

46 44 49

2

42

36

Ambrolauri

Gudauta Gulripshi Ochamchire Sokhumi Keda Khelvachauri Khulo Kobuleti Shuakhevi Baghdati Chiatura Kharagauli Khoni Sachkhere Samtredia Terjola Tkibuli Tskaltubo Vani Zestaponi Chokhatauri Lanchkhuti Ozurgeti

35

Zugdidi

18

39

67

Mtskheta- Mtianeti

50

23

26

22

19

45 48

Tskhinvali

16

21

20 43

Poti

Adjara

Kutaisi

34

25

38

13

33

Shida Kartli

24

Guria

Imereti

12

17

Telavi

14

66

29

Ozurgeti

Gori

65

15

Mtskheta

64

30

10 11

10

55

63

37

28

Batumi

Adjara

51

Akhaltsikhe

Tbilisi

Kakheti

9

59

Guria

7 11

62

32

8

31

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

53 54 52

61

Rustavi

Samtskhe- Javakheti

Kvemo Kartli

60

27

Mtsketa-Mtianeti

58

57

ImereTi

34 35 36 37 38

56

Akhalgori Dusheti Kazbegi Mtskheta Tianeti

0

50 km

Kakheti

Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

Abasha Chkhorotsku Khobi Martvili Mestia Senaki Tsalenjikha Zugdidi

43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Akhmeta Dedoplistskaro Gurjaani Kvareli Lagodekhi Sagarejo Sighnaghi Telavi

Samtskhe-Javakheti

Kvemo Kartli

Shida Kartli

Racha-Lechkhumi- Kvemo Svaneti

51 52 53 54 55 56

57 58 59 60 61 62

63 64 65 66 67

Adigeni Akhalkalaki Akhaltsikhe Aspindza Borjomi Ninotsminda

Bolnisi Dmanisi Gardabani Marneuli Tetri Tskaro Tsalka

Gori Kaspi Kareli Khashuri Java

39 40 41 42

Ambrolauri Lentekhi Oni Tsageri

Source : Social Service Agency of Georgia.

Map by Manana Kurtubadze, GRID-Arendal, 2015.

37