ntain farmers, do not meet UNESCO stipulations as regards contributing to the preservation of the local cultural landscape (cf. criterion V, ICOMOS 1996).
The ICOMOS assessors took the view in 1996 that no management plan was necessary, possibly because they assumed that the region would remain isolated for the foreseeable future.
Tourism sustains and threatens in Ushguli
The ‘Caucasus Barometer’ for 2017 reported that 22% of the population in Georgia found themselves with insufficient funds to feed themselves and their families daily in the course of a month, while 30 %, although they had enough money for food, could not afford clothing. 24 % were dependent on the proceeds from selling the produce of small-scale subsistence farming and only 40 % received a regular wage. A total of 33 % reported needing a minimum of 250 to 400 US dollars per month to cover necessary household expenses for themselves and their families to live normal lives; however, a total of 58 % reported having less than 250 US dollars per month to cover necessary household expenses; a level of 101 to 250 US dollars do only 14 % of the population reach and the average old-age pension amounts to only 50 US dollars per month (cf. Caucasus Barometer 2017).
This is a context in which tourism attains great potential significance as a way of defusing conflict by advancing economic development. The three- to six-month tourist season in the summer, and the region’s admittedly limited access to skiing-based tourism in the winter, enable many families to return at least temporarily to Mestia, the regional administrative centre (1500m altitude, population: 2600), or to higher-altitude villages such as Ushguli.
Summarising, we can identify the need for a long-term management plan for Ushguli with active local participation in its implementation and monitoring and having regard to both architectural preservation and ‘gentle tourism’, to enable the community to maintain its authenticity in line with UNESCO criteria. A further issue consists in the ever-increasing volume of refuse generated by tourists, exacerbated by the continued lack of a sewage treatment system in Ushguli.
Text: © Stefan Applis (2019)
Photography: © Stefan Applis (2018, 2017)
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