37 / 88
37
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.
Abkhazia
Adjara
Samegrelo-
Zemo
Svaneti
Racha-Lechkhumi-
Kvemo Svaneti
Imereti
Guria
Kakheti
Shida Kartli
Kvemo Kartli
Samtskhe-
Javakheti
Mtskheta-
Mtianeti
Abkhazia
Adjara
Samegrelo-
Zemo
Svaneti
Racha-Lechkhumi-
Kvemo Svaneti
Imereti
Guria
Kakheti
Shida Kartli
Kvemo Kartli
Samtskhe-
Javakheti
Mtskheta-
Mtianeti
Sokhumi
Batumi
Tbilisi
Kutaisi
Ambrolauri
Mestia
Ozurgeti
Tskhinvali
Mtskheta
Rustavi
Poti
Zugdidi
Gori
Akhaltsikhe
Telavi
Sokhumi
Batumi
Tbilisi
Kutaisi
Ambrolauri
Mestia
Ozurgeti
Tskhinvali
Mtskheta
Rustavi
Poti
Zugdidi
Gori
Akhaltsikhe
Telavi
1
3
6
4
5
2
47
40
46
44 49
50
45 48
42
18
23
20 43
13
12
14
10
8
7 11
9
51
24
15
17
55
53 54 52
56
58
62
61
57
60
59
37
64
63
65
66
67
36
34
35
38
26
33
29
30
28
31
32
27
41
19
16
22
21
25
39
1
3
6
4
5
2
47
40
46
44 49
50
45 48
42
18
23
20 43
13
12
14
10
8
7 11
9
51
24
15
17
55
53 54 52
56
58
62
61
57
60
59
37
64
63
65
66
67
36
34
35
38
26
33
29
30
28
31
32
27
41
19
16
22
21
25
39
50 km
0
No data
45 - 50
40 - 45
35 - 40
30 - 35
25 - 30
20 - 25
15 - 20
10 - 15
Rate (%)
Abkhazia
Gagra
Gali
Gudauta
Gulripshi
Ochamchire
Sokhumi
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
Kakheti
Racha-Lechkhumi-
Kvemo Svaneti
Adigeni
Akhalkalaki
Akhaltsikhe
Aspindza
Borjomi
Ninotsminda
Bolnisi
Dmanisi
Gardabani
Marneuli
Tetri Tskaro
Tsalka
Gori
Kaspi
Kareli
Khashuri
Java
Adjara
Guria
Mtsketa-Mtianeti
Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
ImereTi
Source : Social Service Agency of Georgia.
Map by Manana Kurtubadze, GRID-Arendal, 2015.
Shida Kartli
Kvemo Kartli
Samtskhe-Javakheti
Abasha
Chkhorotsku
Khobi
Martvili
Mestia
Senaki
Tsalenjikha
Zugdidi
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
Ambrolauri
Lentekhi
Oni
Tsageri
Akhalgori
Dusheti
Kazbegi
Mtskheta
Tianeti
Akhmeta
Dedoplistskaro
Gurjaani
Kvareli
Lagodekhi
Sagarejo
Sighnaghi
Telavi
Baghdati
Chiatura
Kharagauli
Khoni
Sachkhere
Samtredia
Terjola
Tkibuli
Tskaltubo
Vani
Zestaponi
Chokhatauri
Lanchkhuti
Ozurgeti
Keda
Khelvachauri
Khulo
Kobuleti
Shuakhevi
Border of occupied territories
Women
Men
Rate of population below the poverty line in Georgia by districts and big cities in 2014