Large wildfires ravaged the Dedoplistako district 'the wheat basket of Georgia' in the summer of 2015. They had their origin on farms, as farmers ignite crop residues to dispose of them cheaply after harvest.

A dry and windy summer, combined with high yields (large amount of crop residues) made the fires uncontrollable. They burned the majority of tree hedges in the Shiraki valley and spread into vineyards, pasture land, unharvested fields and protected areas.

In response to this crisis, the Georgian Ministry of Environment is drafting a law to prohibit crop residue burning in Georgia. For that purpose, Altus Impact assisted GIZ in undertaking an ecosystem service valuation to assess the economic impacts of banning agricultural fires in the Dedoplistkaro District. We valued both the costs and benefits of invigorating such a policy, focusing on soil fertility, the protection of remaining wind breaks (tree hedges), changes in hydrological services and carbon sequestration. Financial analysis of alternative uses of crop residues were also undertaken, which included analyzing the feasibility of processing crop residues to produce fuel pellets and animal forage which are in much demand.

The results of our analysis will soon feature in the proposed legislation to ban residue burning in Georgia. The study was undertaken as part of the ELD initiative and the final report is now published.