Mediterranean Forests need new approaches and adequate resources

The IV Mediterranean Forest Week (MFW) transgressed traditional boundaries to open up crosssectorial dialogue and inspire innovative approaches.
The fourth edition of the successful biennial event welcomed more than 400 participants from 25
countries to Barcelonas Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site, from 17 20 March.

The role of Mediterranean forest value chains in a green economy was the main theme, with invited
speakers and participants from a wide range of sectors beyond the traditional forest
sector, including water, energy, tourism, climate financing and entrepreneurship.
The week started with a challenge in a call for a change in mindset from Inazio Martinez de Arano,
EFIMED Head of Office. We must shift our thinking to recover a perception of Mediterranean
forests as a source of richness and value, rather than as a fragile ecosystem and sink of
public resources. He also introduced the meetings cross-sectoral focus which included various
sessions exploring the role of forests in relation to key sectors and new opportunities, and in the
frame of cross-cutting themes a such as gender, education and training.
Financing was also a key item on the agenda and an extended session on increasing the
mobilisation of Climate Financing Instruments to support programmes in forested Mediterranean
landscapes included case studies from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Lebanon, as well as key
insights from REDD+ and carbon financing experts.
Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Assistant Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the
United Nations (FAO) highlighted the need for increased investment in Mediterranean
forestswhich are vital for rural development and to sustain rural populations. In a high-level session
involving bilateral and multi-lateral donors, Dr Rojas-Briales underlined the key role played by forests
in providing services to society: protecting soil; providing water; and preserving biodiversity and
landscapes that are crucial for tourism. He called for cooperation from countries on both sides of the
Mediterranean basin to ensure adequate financing is in place to support forest restoration,
climate change adaptation and the fight against neglected forests, stressing the importance of
support for rural populations to remain and not migrate away.
This follows on from the Tlemcen Declaration, approved in Algeria in March 2013 at the III MFW, in
which participants from 15 Mediterranean countries declared political support for the sustainable
development of Mediterranean forests through renewed cooperation. Donors present in Barcelona
discussed opportunities to link priorities, programmes and financial instruments with
Tlemcens Strategic Framework. Subsequently, the Barcelona Declarationwas drafted and
approved by the extraordinary session of the Committee on Mediterranean Forestry Questions
SilvaMediterranea, where delegates showed their support for deeper cooperation, strengthening the
policy dialogue and better coordination with intergovernmental organisations working on
Mediterranean forest issues.
Various side events took place during the course of the week and more than 60 posters were

displayed. Two awards were made for the best poster: Role of sacred forests in the conservation
of natural and cultural heritage from northern Morocco, Houda Ben Salah (Morocco) and Enhance
local development in Tunisian forest areas: new culture of edible mushrooms, Slama Awatef
(Tunisia).
MFW is a common regional platform for cooperation on Mediterranean forests, aiming at improving
the dialogue between the Mediterranean forest research community, policy-makers and relevant
stakeholders as well as at communicating to the international community and society at large the
relevance and challenges affecting Mediterranean forests.
IV MFW was organised by the International Association for Mediterranean Forests (AIFM), Forest
Sciences Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), European Forest Institute Mediterranean Regional Office
(EFIMED), FAO Committee on Mediterranean Forestry Questions Silva Mediterranea, Generalitat
de Catalunya, German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), Mediterranean Model Forest
Network (MMFN) and Plan Bleu UNEP-MAP Regional Activity Centre, Algerian Ministry of
Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment of Spain (MAGRAMA).
The V Mediterranean Forest Week will be held in 2017 in Morocco.
Lead photo: Robert Ramos, Sant Pau Foundation; content photo: Pilar Valbu