The 12-months project “Strengthening local community involvement in the environmental decision-making process” aims to increase civic participation in decision-making and monitoring of large-scale infrastructure development projects in Georgia through a dedicated capacity development program on environmental advocacy. Two central results are expected to be achieved by the project:

• Civil society actors are empowered to effectively influence EIA and infrastructure development construction processes at the local level

• Local communities are informed about the environmental and social aspects and effects of large- scale infrastructure development projects

These results shall be achieved through the piloting of a capacity development program on effective grass-root environmental advocacy campaigning, a mechanism for cross-regional networking among environmental civil society actors (grass-root NGOs and informal civil society initiatives), and a coaching and peer-to-peer mentoring scheme that supports the realization of environmental campaigns in the the proximity of Emerald Network Sites that are affected by large-scale infrastructure development projects.