The Rioni River is a major water course in Western Georgia; being the largest water body of the region, it has a total catchment area of about 13,400 km2 that is approximately 20% of the whole Georgian territory. The upper Rioni pilot watershed area, for which the given Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (hereafter Integrated Watershed Management Plan-IWMP) is developed, geographically encompasses the Ambrolauri and Oni municipalities with a total area of more than 2,500 km2. The pilot territory is mostly mountainous, less populated, and rich in virgin forests with high ecological and aesthetic value. These forests form habitats for many species. The waters and associated resources of the Rioni river basin, including land and biological resources, have various essential and economic functions, involving but not limited to: provision of drinking water, nutritional base, energy and clean environment to the population; provision of water for industries, fisheries and power generation; provision of local resources (e.g. fire wood, timber and wood chips as construction materials, non-timber resources, etc.) for subsistence economies; maintaining ecosystem integrity, richness and healthiness (water, soil and climate regulation, etc.); disaster risk reduction (prevention/control of floods, landslides, mudflows and avalanches); and provision of recreational resources to the population.