The Second Meeting of the Working Group Promoting the Improvement of Atmospheric Air Quality in the Central Zone

Today, on February 3, the second meeting of the working group promoting the improvement of atmospheric air quality in the central zone was held. As you already know, “Gavigudet” is a member of this group.

Let us remind you, that to manage the atmospheric air quality, the territory of our country is divided into zones and agglomerations. The central zone unites 12 municipalities, including Rustavi.

The central zone is one of the areas where, according to the results of the monitoring of the atmospheric air carried out by the National Environmental Agency, the limit values of solid particles and nitrogen dioxide are exceeded in some cities. Accordingly, an atmospheric air quality management plan should be developed for the mentioned central zone.

In the draft version of the action plan we read, that according to the data of 2021, 18, 341 tons of particulate matter were dispersed into the environment from stationary sources of atmospheric air pollution in the central zone, the largest share of dispersed particulate matter (70.7%) coming to Rustavi. Accordingly, the activities described in the action plan for the central zone are mostly adapted to the needs of Rustavi.

The first meeting of the working group was held on December 8, 2022. At the meeting, our movement discussed a number of problematic issues of Rustavi, which we would like to solve within the framework of the mentioned plan. We are glad that during the discussion of the initial version of the action plan at today’s meeting, it was revealed that the majority of the issues were reflected in the mentioned plan’s activities.

At this stage, the action plan did not include activities to solve the problems related to inter-city (Rustavi-Tbilisi) transportation; However, as the representatives of the Ministry promised us, this issue will be taken into account in the action plan for improving the atmospheric air quality of Tbilisi agglomeration; Among them, in the process of developing the latter, in order to share opinions and recommendations regarding the issue, the City Hall of Rustavi Municipality and our movement might be involved.

Besides this, the action plan for improving the atmospheric air quality of the central zone also takes into account the development of the so-called air quality modeling tool – this is a kind of rating tool that provides a complete picture of the air quality situation for the entire country. In this case, the focus will be on the central zone.

In addition to all this, we discussed the establishment of the load norm for the city. “Gavigudet” always emphasizes that in the conditions of the increase of enterprises and, especially, their performance, it is important to set the load norm for the city; Otherwise, even if the filtration systems work properly, the cumulative impact in the city will increase and we won’t have any improvement with air pollution in our city. As the representatives of the Department of Atmospheric Air noted, this issue is quite complex, and the search for an appropriate solution regarding it, requires detailed work with the decision-makers in the Ministry, which they confirmed to be ready for.

Only the initial version of the action plan document has been developed and several issues will be clarified step by step, however, based on the available data, we share with you the tasks set within the framework of the action plan for improving the air quality of the central zone:

– Reduction of atmospheric air pollution with particulate matter in the central zone;

– Reduction of pollution from motor vehicles in the central zone;

– Improvement of green infrastructure in Rustavi/central area;

– Improvement of the system for assessing the impact of air pollution and its implications on human health in the central zone;

– Raising public awareness about air protection of the atmospheric air in the central zone.

The civil movement “Gavigudet” will continue the advocacy of the air pollution problem and after the development of the final version of the document will share with you specific activities, developed for improving the air quality of Rustavi.