CENN conducted a training at the Green Centre on November 10–11 for representatives of media on the role of the media in environmental policy-making and in the enhancement of public environmental awareness. The training was dedicated to the problems (challenges) caused by the mining activities in Georgia and included discussion of both the expected environmental risks and economic benefits of mining. During the training, while discussing the example of environmental and economic problems caused by the operation of limestone extraction and a cement factory in Kaspi Municipality, the media representatives were introduced to the negative environmental and social impacts of the mining industry in Georgia. The journalists were also presented the new draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Code along with new rules on environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment, and public participation in the decision-making process, as well as the state monitoring system in the mining sector. Participants of the training had the unique opportunity to research in one of Georgia’s major mining and pollution hotspots, Kaspi Municipality, talking to local community leaders, to representatives of the local authorities in the affected areas, and to representatives of mining companies. The initiative was implemented within the framework of CENN’s regional project, Promoting Environmental and Social Accountability in the Mining Sector in the Caucasus, with the financial support of the German fund, Bread for the World.
     