Selection principles and focuses of landscape planning of protected areas

Javakheti National Park is part of a highland of volcanic origin located between Georgia, Armenia, and Turkey. Javakheti's particular transboundary significance is related to its wetlands located at very high altitudes and its highland plateaus that are the crossroads of bird migration routes between Europe, Asia and Africa. According to international environmental regulations, the Javakheti wetlands meet the requirements necessary to be classified as a Ramsar site and may be potentially put Ramsar site list, as Georgia signed the Ramsar Convention in 1996. At present the Javakheti ecosystems need to be protected, sustained, improved and developed, preferably on the basis of sustainable development and eco-oriented landscape planning. There are several already existing or proposed protected areas in the vicinity of the planned Javakheti Protected Area, including the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, the Mtirala National Park, Nedzvi and Tetrobi Sanctuaries, proposed national park of Machakhela, national park of Lake Arpi (Armenia) and others. Creation of new protected areas in Javakheti and connecting them up to other existing protected area by means of ecological corridors would not only serve the purposes of regional and transboundary cooperation but also would be a prerequisite for establishing an integrated network of protected areas of different categories in the region.In this article, the selection principles, the conflicts (natural, anthropogenic and legal) are considered focuses of planning for the protected territories in Georgia.Of several places that could get the status of geoparks in Georgia, Javaketi protected area is the most attractive; due to the presence of volcanic mountains (craters), volcanic canyons, volcanic lakes, the relict mountain forests(subalpine), routes of migratory birds, forms of ethno culture and ecological agriculture. In the offered Javakheti geopark there will be a unique historical complex of Vardzia constructed in the 12th century and presented on appointment of UNESCO. Keywords: Protected areas, Landscape planning, Natural conflicts, Geoparks, Key factors