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    Georgia is the mountainous country: more than 2/3 of its territory is above 1000 meters. Unfortunately, unique ecosystem of Caucasus and, in particular, mountains of Georgia recently, by virtue of known global, international and regional factors is on the verge of catastrophe. Therefore, signing by the president of Georgia E. Shevardnadze on June 9, 1999 of the law of Georgia " About social, economic and cultural development of high-mountainous regions of Georgia " certainly is the rather duly act.
    The law is elaborated by a complex constantly working mountain commission at the Presidium of the Georgian Academy of Sciences. It took into consideration appropriate items of the Constitution of Georgia and international recommendations about national mountain policy and legislation. The law regulates the regions getting in its jurisdiction (their list is given in the appendix). Those are the mountain districts located above 1500 meters from a sea level. For especially complex cases this limit is reduced down to 1300, and in some cases even down to 800 meters above a sea level.
    In view of this law, the respective alterations and additions in the earlier accepted laws (about the Property of Ground, Education, Public Health Services, About State Border, in the Tax Code and Code about Work) are brought in. The accepted law well reflects the protectionistic policy of the state in relation to mountain areas.
    The law will raise geopolitical importance of mountain regions and potential role of their resources in a national economy, will cause rehabilitation of its facilities, will create favorable conditions for sustainable development of mountain regions of Georgia and will decrease mountain people migration.

    On August 2, 1999  "The Union of  Mountain Activists of Georgia " has addressed a letter to Georgian parliament about necessity of entering in the list of regions falling under the action of the law of Georgia " About socio-economic and cultural development of high-mountainous regions of Georgia " of villages of Kaspi area: Zemo Gostibe, Qvemo Gostibe, Tskhaveri and Gargali, which by their parameters meet the requirements of the Law.
    On the basis of the letter, the Georgian Parliament has accepted the Decision about entering the above listed villages under the jurisdiction of the Law. The decision was authorized by the President of Georgia on September 9, 1999.