Silva Mediterranea

Over 90 years of Mediterranean forest management

Meeting of Silva Mediterranea during COFO 24

A meeting of the AFWC/EFC/NEFC Committee on Mediterranean Forestry Questions-Silva Mediterranea was held at FAO on Friday 20 July 2018 during the 6th World Forest Week. The meeting was attended by 27 participants from 10 member countries.

Vivid discussions took place on the strategy of Silva Mediterranea that is currently being developed, on the promotion of young entrepreneurship to develop value chains (Blue Forest project idea), and on the improvement of the functioning of the Committee, including the revision of its rules of procedure.

The meeting also allowed Members to get an update on the activities of the subsidiary bodies of Silva Mediterranea. The coordinators of the working groups presented indeed the progress made in the development of the respective activities and updates of work plans.

The Committee agreed on the following actions to be taken:

1. Strategy of Silva Mediterranea: Members agreed on the necessity to shorten and streamline the current version of the text. The secretariat of the Committee will draft a new version of the strategy based on the skeleton provided in the joint comments from France, Portugal and Spain, and including all the comments made by other Members during the meeting. The Chair of the Committee will send a letter to all Members with the new draft version of the strategy.
2. Amendment of the rules of procedure: Request for proposals amending the rules of procedure of the Committee will be sent in the same letter from the Chair related to the draft strategy of Silva Mediterranea.
3. Amendment of the Notes on the role of observers and coordinators within subsidiary bodies as well as on the animation of the national focal points’ network: Request for proposals amending the notes will be sent in the same letter from the Chair related to the draft strategy of Silva Mediterranea.
4. Blue Forest project idea: Members agreed on removing migration related references from the scope of the project addressing it to all local/rural communities that get their livelihood from forest products. The Chair of the Committee will send a letter to all Members with the concept note of the project, asking Members to formally approve the project idea by written procedure.
5. Future of the secretariat: Members agreed that the Chair will send a letter to all Members to explain the current situation of Silva Mediterranea and asking countries to clarify by the end of 2018 their position with regards to the continued functioning of the secretariat of Silva Mediterranea.