LocationsAcross Georgia, local action is helping people reduce climate risks and protect their homes
100 Communities. One Shared Journey Towards Climate Resilience.
July 27, 2026
Olia Chelidze | Village Kvabgha, Chokhatauri Municipality
Photo: UNDP | Nino Zedginidze
In Georgia, 1.7 million people, more than 40 percent of the population, live in areas exposed to climate-related hazards, including floods, landslides, avalanches, and extreme weather. According to the National Statistics Office, the country experiences around 1,000 geological and 170 hydrometeorological events every year, with both their frequency and intensity continuing to rise. [Source: GEOSTAT]
To meet this growing challenge, Georgia is strengthening its resilience to climate change. The country is improving its climate monitoring and weather forecasting, expanding early warning systems, introducing risk-informed land-use planning, and protecting high-risk locations with retaining walls, gabions, and other protective infrastructure. This transformation is part of the nationwide climate programme led by the Government of Georgia and UNDP, with support from the Green Climate Fund, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Building resilience, however, takes time. While these long-term investments are laying the foundations for a safer future, climate hazards are already disrupting the lives of hundreds of communities. The greatest burden falls on those with the fewest resources to cope, including rural women, children, older people, persons with disabilities, and people living in remote mountain villages.
That is why immediate, community-led action matters.
Working with national and local partners, UNDP has identified 100 communities across Georgia where climate risks are especially high. Home to more than 360,000 people, these communities are now strengthening their climate resilience.
With UNDP support, residents are assessing climate risks, developing disaster risk management plans, establishing local councils to coordinate preparedness and response, and implementing practical solutions that help prevent disasters where possible and reduce their impact when they occur.
By the end of 2026, all 50 of the selected communities in western Georgia will have completed small-scale climate adaptation projects tailored to their local needs. Another 50 communities in eastern Georgia will follow suit by the end of 2027.
From reinforcing unstable hillsides and riverbanks to restoring drainage systems, these relatively modest interventions are making a tangible difference. They help people protect their homes, livelihoods, and essential services while building confidence to face a changing climate together.
According to Douglas Webb, UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia, “At the heart of climate resilience are people. When communities understand their risks and take action, they can protect lives, livelihoods, and their future.”
If Something Can Be Done, Here We Are!
"If something can be done, here we are!" says Olia Chelidze, an elderly resident of Kvabgha, a picturesque village in western Georgia where breathtaking scenery conceals the constant threat of landslides and flooding.
During heavy rains, the hillside above the village begins to move. Mud and soil slide downhill, damaging homes and washing away orchards. The last time it happened in 2023, a mudflow burst through the walls of Olia's house while she was alone with her grandchildren. It cracked the foundations of her home and uprooted the hazelnut trees in her garden.
"The hillside collapsed several times. We tried to deal with it ourselves, but there was nothing we could do," Olia recalls.
Today, her home is far better protected. A 25-metre-long, two-metre-high retaining wall has been built at the foot of the slope, while reinforcement works and newly planted willow trees stabilised the hillside and reduced erosion.
"The roots hold the soil together. We look after the trees because we know how important they are," Olia says.
Kvabgha is one of the 100 high-risk communities across Georgia where local climate adaptation projects are delivering immediate protection from growing climate threats. Beyond the infrastructure they create, these initiatives leave communities with something just as valuable: the confidence that by working together, they can reduce risks, protect one another, and build a safer future.
Klara Kutubidze | Village Supsa, Lanchkhuti Municipality
Photo: UNDP | Nino Zedginidze
Safer Together
"Whenever heavy rains came, we stayed awake all night. Water would flood our home, and mud would fill the rooms," recalls Klara Kutubidze from the village of Supsa in Lanchkhuti Municipality.
For Klara, adapting to a changing climate is more than building stronger infrastructure. It is also about neighbours coming together, identifying shared challenges, and working as a team to solve them. She now brings her community together to help residents communicate their concerns to local authorities.
"One swallow does not make a summer," Klara says with a smile. "If we want our village to be safer, everyone must do their part."
That spirit of collective action has shaped the village's response to flooding. Together, residents identified the greatest risks and discussed local solutions needed to protect them. As a result, a 246-metre concrete drainage channel clogged with sediment was cleaned; another 270 metres of earthen channel was restored; a further 180 metres of drainage channel was widened to improve water flow; and a 30-metre protective concrete wall was built.
These priorities emerged from community discussions and were incorporated into a local disaster risk management plan. More than a planning document, it has become a roadmap for community-led climate action, ensuring that local knowledge, shared responsibility, and practical solutions work hand in hand to make Supsa safer and more resilient.
Standing Against the Wind
In Sviri village, strong and frequent winds are shaping daily life and livelihoods, damaging rooftops, uprooting trees, and affecting agricultural land.
"Everyone here grows corn," says resident Paata Gvenetadze. "Sometimes the wind is so strong that it flattens the entire crop."
To protect the village and reduce the impact of winds, UNDP helped plant a 660-metre-long windbreak of cypress trees. Paata and other community members actively engaged in tree planting, which responded directly to a locally identified need.
"Cypress trees work like a natural wind barrier," Paata explains. "This is what the village asked for, and now it has been done."
Lili Nadiradze | Village Chognari, Samtredia Municipality
Photo: UNDP | Nino Zedginidze
When Roads Become Lifelines
For Lili Nadiradze from Chognari village, rainy days always brought the same worry: whether her granddaughter would be able to get to school and return home safely.
In Chognari, home to just 14 households, heavy rains often damage the main road. This road is more than a local connection. It links ten small villages of the Sajavakho community to the administrative centre, providing access to basic services, including education and healthcare. When the road is cut off, access to school, municipal services, and emergency support becomes difficult or even impossible.
To address these risks, a series of protective works was carried out along the road. A 236-metre concrete drainage channel was constructed to divert water safely, a five-metre drainage cover was installed, and around 600 metres of road were reinforced with gravel. In addition, a drinking water pipeline was installed in response to community needs.
These measures now help ensure safer and more reliable movement for residents, while keeping essential services within reach even during heavy rains.
“The water no longer comes onto the road. It flows through the channels instead,” Lili says. “It is better for everyone. For those who have moved away and for those who still live here.”
Zestaponi Municipality
Photo: UNDP | Gaga Kapanadze
Resilience Begins with Us
In western Georgia, community-driven climate action now spans 45 communities across the basins of six rivers: Chorokhi, Enguri, Khobistskali, Natanebi, Rioni, and Supsa. Since 2024, 55 disaster-risk reduction projects have been completed, strengthening protection against floods, landslides, and erosion.
These interventions include improved drainage systems, reinforced riverbanks with gabions and riprap berms, cleared and restored river channels, rockfall protection nets, windbreaks, afforestation to stabilise slopes, and retaining walls in landslide-prone areas.
They are helping to slow water flows, stabilise vulnerable terrain, and reduce the impact of extreme weather events on nearby settlements.
The programme is now expanding to 50 communities in eastern Georgia, with all planned works expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
The results are already visible: safer homes and infrastructure, better-informed communities, stronger local response to climate hazards, and, most importantly, hundreds of small but meaningful steps towards a climate-resilient Georgia.
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Background
With US$74 million in funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Sweden, Switzerland, and the Georgian Government, UNDP helps Georgia rethink its climate resilience to protect people and the economy from climate-driven disasters. This major seven-year-long effort draws on partnerships with the public and civic sectors, local communities, and international development partners. More information is available here.
