Air pollution in Georgia contributed to more than 4,000 lives lost, while its economic costs were estimated at $560 million, or 3% of gross domestic product (GDP), reads the World Bank report 'Georgia: Towards Green and Resilient Growth', that estimates losses associated with pollution and degradation of agricultural and forest land and coastal zones.
"The cost of agricultural and forest land degradation, which disproportionately impacts the rural poor who derive their livelihoods from land, was estimated at $128 million. Restoring landscapes is projected to reduce the poverty gap by 6%", reads the report.
The World Bank says that climate change will further exacerbate environmental degradation, particularly in Georgia’s coastal zones, Agenda.ge reported.
