Over 80 forestry experts and international development partners from 24 countries of Africa, Near East, Central Asia and the Mediterranean gathered in Konya (Turkey) from 28-31 May at an international workshop, that is organized and supported by the Turkish Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, FAO, the Turkish International Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

This event is held in response to recommendations by FAO member countries to develop operational guidelines for the restoration of degraded forest landscapes and lands under the difficult environmental and socio-economic conditions in arid and semi-arid zones, for the benefit of the local population. The workshop participants shared experiences, identify key elements of success and failure in forest restoration projects and discussed the comprehensive restoration monitoring tool, newly developed by FAO, to guide planning, implementation and evaluation of field projects and programmes.