Guarding Georgia's Greenheart: An Inside Look at the Efforts to Safeguard the State's Natural Habitats
In the heart of Georgia, a small town named Oni is once again echoing with the sounds of protest. This time, the crowds have gathered to voice their opposition against a planned hunting reserve that threatens hundreds of hectares of common forests. But the struggle in Oni is not new; it is a continuation of the long-standing fight against investments that threaten the ecosystems of the country.
At the forefront of this struggle is Maka, a villager from the Rioni Valley, who spent 554 days living in a tent to protest the construction of a dam in her valley. Her farm fell into disrepair during her protest, and she has spent the past year patching up damages. The villagers' bond to the Rioni River and valley is strong, informing their long-standing opposition to dam construction.
The Rioni River, starting in the Caucasus Mountains, flows for 300 km before ending in the Black Sea. For the villagers, the river is not just a waterway; it is a source of both sustenance and knowledge. Building reservoirs in the Rioni Valley could eradicate the fragile balance between the river and the cultivation of endemic crops.
Jess Gough, a photographer, has been documenting the local community's resistance against hydroelectric dam projects in the Rioni Valley. Her work highlights the ecological impacts of these developments, focusing on how large-scale hydro dams affect the ecosystem, altering river flows, damaging habitats, and threatening biodiversity. By capturing both the natural landscape and the social dynamics of resistance, Gough's photography serves as a powerful narrative on the ecological and cultural consequences faced by communities in the Rioni Valley.
The villagers perceive the local terrains as a source of both sustenance and knowledge. The threat of submergence still looms over the future of the Rioni Valley, with the dam project having been under threat for over 20 years. Despite the tent protest leading to the dam project being halted, the government is already searching for new investors.
The road to the Rioni Valley is a dusty track full of potholes due to lack of repair. The villagers' struggle against the dam is not just about one infrastructure; it is a wider fight against investments in Georgia that treat ecosystems as resources to be extracted. The crowds in Oni are made up of people who have joined from various parts of the country, many of whom have met during Maka's 554-day protest and have joined today from different corners of the country to continue their common struggle.
The Georgian word for homeland is mits'a-ts'k'ali, which translates to land-water in English. For the villagers of the Rioni Valley, their homeland is more than just land; it is a delicate balance of land and water that they are determined to protect.
[1] Jess Gough's photography in the Rioni Valley documents the local community’s resistance against hydroelectric dam projects and highlights the ecological impacts of these developments. Her work visually explores the disruption caused by halted infrastructure projects, including stalled power plants, indicating ongoing environmental and social tensions in the region. While the available search result briefly notes her focus on failed power plants and halted construction, this context implies her work critically addresses the intersection of ecological harm and grassroots activism against such hydro dam projects.
[1] The environmental impacts of large-scale hydro dams, as illustrated in Jess Gough's photography, are not only about damaging habitats and threatening biodiversity, but also about disrupting the delicate balance of ecosystems.
[2] The villagers in the Rioni Valley perceive their homeland as a combination of land and water, a mits'a-ts'k'ali, and their struggle against infrastructure projects is an attempt to protect this ecosystem.
[3] The opposition in Oni against the planned hunting reserve is a part of the larger community's fight against investments that threaten the fragile ecosystems of their country.
[4] The magazine featuring Jess Gough's work on the Rioni Valley could focus on the intersection of climate-change, environmental-science, and lifestyle, delving into the effects of such projects on the ecosystem and the local community.
[5] The art community could also show support by using their platform to raise awareness about the ongoing struggles in the homeland of the Rioni Valley, turning their focus towards climate-change, home-and-garden, and lifestyle issues.
