Medgar Chelidze is an environmental specialist, whose areas of expertise include: preparing environmental impact assessments and environmental audits of industrial projects, feasibility studies and strategic environmental assessments (energy and transport sectors, infrastructure development), risk assessments, emergency preparedness, environmental security, and corporate social responsibility.

Mr. Chelidze’s background is in biophysics and he holds a PhD in biology. As a biophysicist he has worked in scientific centers of Georgia (Georgian Branch of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology; Republican Center of Angiology), Russia (Moscow, Institute of Biological Testing of Chemical Compounds), and published articles in international scientific journals. During the last ten years he has gained a wealth of practical knowledge in the environmental field through a number of capacity building/technical assistance programs offered by the EU, TACIS, WB, and the US Environmental Protection Agency.

From 2000 until the end of 2005, Mr. Chelidze was Environmental Manager of the Georgian National Oil Corporation. During this time, he participated in the review of the environmental articles of the Host Governmental Agreements related to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline (BTC) and the South Caucasian Pipeline (SCP gas pipeline), managed a multidisciplinary team charged with reviewing the strategic EIA (route selection), the EIA and Emergency Response and Oil Spill Response Plans, performed environmental and social monitoring of the BTC and SCP pipeline construction, and monitored the Western Route Export Pipeline (WREP) operation and maintenance activities.

In 2006, Mr. Chelidze became the Environmental and Social Specialist of the Municipal Development Fund of Georgia (MDF). In this position he provides monitoring and evaluation of infrastructure development projects on their compliance with the MCC and WB environmental and social guidelines. In particular, several feasibility studies for water supply, irrigation and dam rehabilitation projects have been reviewed and appropriate screening/scoping exercises performed (e.g. water supply projects for the cities Poti, Kutaisi, Kobuleti, Rustavi, Borjomi and irrigation and dam rehabilitation projects for the Sioni Dam, Algeti Dam, Samgori Irrigation System, etc.).

Mr. Chelidze works as an independent expert consultant and as Project Manager and Cofounder of the environmental consulting company Environmental Technologies, Ltd. As Project Manager of ET Ltd., he has directed the preparation of EIAs for implementation of the new technologies of biological waste utilization within the framework of the Biological Weapon Proliferation Prevention Project (managed in Georgia by Bechtel National Inc., 2004-2006). As the leader of a team of local environmental experts, Mr. Chelidze currently lends his expertise to two projects: “Marine and Land based Oil Spill Prevention and Mitigation,” (this project is implemented by Royal Haskoning Nederland B.V. and is aimed to provide support to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Georgia); and “Four-Lane Highway Mtskheta-Khashuri: Analysis of Alternatives, Preliminary Design and Environmental Screening and Resettlement,” (this project is executed by Bonifica SPA – Italy).