Fire on the Territory of Kobuleti PA

On the night of February 3, the fire broke out on the territory of Kobuleti Protected Areas as a result of which, the unique swamp Ispani located within the PA boundaries has been damaged. Kobuleti Protected Areas consist of State Reserve (Ispani I) and Managed Reserve (Ispani II) located along the Black Sea shores, east of Kobuleti town. Ispani II is a wetland area of outstanding international importance according to Ramsar Convection and the place for rest of migratory waterbirds.      

The fire breaks out on the mentioned territory several times throughout the year which is mostly caused by the locals burning grass on the nearby plots mistakenly aiming at getting more fertile soil. As a result of such kind of actions the soil becomes depleted and leads towards the erosion. Furthermore, such actions have total disadvantage in terms of damaging not only the local plots but nearby areas as well.

The fire covered about the 5 hectares and damaged the dry leaves of the North Sedge and some dwarf shrubs. It took about 3 hours to extinguish the fire. Investigation is lead by the Kobuleti Municipal Police department regarding the criminal case 187 Article 2 to reveal the initial cause of the accident.    

In future, to avoid the same type of actions, the Agency of Protected Areas plans to held educational discussions to inform the local population how much damage can be caused to the soil through the grass burning practices in general.