The government submitted a package of legislative amendments to parliament on February 23rd, which detailed the potential downsizing of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources. According to the plans, most of the ministry's functions will be transferred to the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of the Economy and Sustainable Development, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure. The decision to restructure the environment ministry came after Mr Saakashvili said in December 2010 that there was "systemic corruption" in the organisation, especially in its forestry department, and that the ministry needed to be reorganised. The government requested that parliament treat the package as a matter of urgency, and the parliamentary vice-speaker from the UNM, Mikheil Machavariani, suggested that it could be approved on its second reading as early as March 9th.

However, the proposals met opposition from environmental groups. In a joint statement, 29 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) urged the government to postpone the plans and instead initiate broad public consultations on the matter. The NGOs were particularly critical of a proposal within the package to subordinate the Agency of Protected Areas to the economy ministry, which they believe would undermine its ability to ensure biodiversity, conservation and the protection of the ecosystem, and would instead subject protected areas to the demands of the tourist industry. Some MPs from the UNM also criticised the plan. The chair of the parliamentary committee on European integration, Davit Darchiashvili, reiterated the NGOs' concerns about the plan to move the Agency of Protected Areas, and argued that issues relating to radioactive substances should remain the remit of the environment ministry, rather than being transferred to the energy ministry as proposed by the government. In response to the criticism, the government announced on February 25th that it had dropped its earlier plans to transfer the Agency of Protected Areas to the economy ministry, in what amounted to a significant climbdown. The remaining amendments will be discussed during a second reading of the bill, which is expected to occur by March 9th.