May 8, 2023
News
Caritas Czech Republic is working on the implementation of sustainable waste management practices in Georgia by capacity-building of specialists and providing the necessary infrastructure for waste management in rural areas. From September 2022, with the support of the Slovak Development Agency and in cooperation with the Slovak organization Sosna, we are working on an initiative to support the sustainable management of wastewater in the municipality of Oni. Within the framework of the project, last week we handed over an assenization vehicle to the Oni Municipality City Hall, which will help the municipality in setting up the wastewater management infrastructure.
Why Oni municipality needs an assenization vehicle
Last week, Caritas Czech Republic, along with representatives of the Slovak organization Sosna and the Slovak Embassy in Georgia, met with the mayor of Oni and the local population and handed over an assenization vehicle. The meeting was held within the framework of the SlovakAid-supported project, which aims to contribute to the management of water quality and resources in Georgia through the arrangement of wastewater management infrastructure.
The first part of the meeting was devoted to training with the local population, during which Ekaterine Meskhrikadze, the deputy head of the Caritas Czech Republic in Georgia and Kakha Bakhtadze, the project expert conducted a training session on sustainable waste management. During the training, they talked about the negative impact of water pollution on human health and the environment, national and international regulations for wastewater management, project tasks, plans and the ongoing process. Stefan Šabo, Sosna's expert introduced the Slovak experience of wastewater management to the interested parties and shared with the audience the knowledge and experience needed for the arrangement and maintenance of the relevant infrastructure.
After the training, Caritas Czech Republic and Sosna handed over an assenization vehicle to Oni Municipality City Hall, which will assist the municipality in the process of setting up a wastewater management infrastructure, which will contribute to the overall management of water quality and resources in Oni Municipality.
Why it is important to have a wastewater management infrastructure
The main source of surface water pollution in Georgia is municipal wastewater, which causes environmental and health problems. After supporting sustainable waste management practices in Oni Municipality and working closely with the local government, Caritas Czech Republic decided to start working on water pollution problems and contribute to water quality and resource management in Oni Municipality by establishing wastewater management infrastructure.
At the initial stage of the project "Pilot Solutions for Sustainable Wastewater Management in Georgia", experts from the Caritas Czech Republic identified hot spots that cause water pollution as a result of research and prepared a technical-economic solution ways piloted within the project. In particular, piloting suitable wastewater management approaches includes installing septic water treatment systems, wetlands, and composting toilets at pre-selected locations. One of the most important directions of the project was the purchase of an assenization vehicle and its handover to the municipality of Oni.
Ekaterine Meskhrikadze, Deputy Head of Caritas Czech Republic in Georgia and Project Manager, says that there is a direct connection between the quality of life and the environment, because the healthy state of the physical environment has a great impact on people's lives:
"Water pollution with sewage, industrial, agricultural and pharmaceutical waste causes environmental and health problems. In Georgia, particularly in rural areas, access to improved sewage systems and appropriate wastewater management remains a challenge. Within this project, our goal is to increase the skills of local stakeholders so that they are better able to respond to these challenges and thus contribute to increasing the quality of life and improving the health of the local population. This project is planned in such a way that it will be possible to replicate the developed solutions in other municipalities of Georgia."
