Multi-use area
Nugzar Zazanashvili Samukhi Multiple-Use Area
The establishment of the first protected area named after an individual is associated with the appreciation of Nugzar Zazanashvili’s contribution to the expansion and development of Georgia’s protected areas network and, more broadly, to environmental protection in the country.
The total area of the Samukhi Multiple-Use Area is 13,273 hectares. Established as the first Category VI protected area in the country according to the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), its primary objective is the restoration, protection, and conservation of the population of the goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa), which has been reintroduced in Georgia.
The Samukhi Valley encompasses the Samukhi Emerald Network site and provides an important habitat for rare and endangered species of flora and fauna.
The establishment of the protected area will contribute to biodiversity conservation at the local, national, and transboundary levels, strengthen Georgia’s protected areas network, protect a key species, promote sustainable ecotourism, and preserve the traditional practices of Tushetian shepherds.