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