In 2017, Morocco hosted the 5MFW, which focused on the restoration of Mediterranean forests and landscapes. The event promoted forest and landscape restoration as essential to the ongoing initiatives of the Rio Conventions and called for an ambitious action agenda in the field that mobilized technical and financial partners across the Mediterranean. 

The 5MFW advanced a new approach to forest restoration that encourages cross-sectoral cooperation by working with local actors to foster productive and multifunctioning landscapes that increase economic, social and environmental benefits. This approach promotes synergies between the three Rio Conventions on climate change, biodiversity and desertification, and thereby contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Objectives

• strengthen exchanges and synergies between global stakeholders in the restoration of Mediterranean forests and landscapes; 
• help achieve SDG 15, especially target 15.3, by supporting efforts on the restoration of degraded lands in the Mediterranean;
• contribute to Aichi target 15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) by facilitating the conservation and restoration of biodiversity in Mediterranean forest ecosystems;
• facilitate the mitigation and adaptation of Mediterranean forest landscapes to climate change, as well as the achievement of non-carbon benefits in order to support the implementation of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) as part of Article 5 of the Paris Agreement; and
• reach the land degradation neutrality goals set by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) by actively promoting forest restoration. 

Outcomes