Second Mediterranean Forest Week (2MFW) - Avignon, France
Forests and climate change in the Mediterranean
Coinciding with the UN Year of Forests, the Second Mediterranean Forest Week was held in Avignon from 5 to 8 April 2011.
Mediterranean forests and woodlands, which cover about 9 percent of the Mediterranean region’s land area (73 million hectares), require special attention for the following reasons:
- They constitute a unique world natural heritage in terms of biological diversity, hosting around 25 000 species of vascular plants, with 50 percent being endemic. They also have a high degree of tree richness and endemism with extraordinary genetic diversity, possessing 290 indigenous tree species with 201 being endemic.
- Their conservation and appropriate management have crucial impacts on the sustainability of the region’s most strategic resource: water. Currently, 60 percent of water-poor countries (with less than 1 000 cubic metres per capita, annually) are in the Mediterranean region. It is expected that by 2050, 290 million people will face water shortages (with less than 500 cubic metres per capita, annually).
They provide highly appreciated and unique non-wood products and non-market services that enable forest management models and innovation frameworks to generate innovative and eco-friendly goods of high-added value with appropriate territorial approaches, thus being a key pillar in a knowledge-based Mediterranean bio-economy.
However, Mediterranean forests and the important goods and services that they provide are seriously threatened by drastic and rapid climate and land use changes:
- Climate change refers to the global temperature increase from 1850–1899 to 2001–2005 of about 0.76 degrees Celsius (°C); meanwhile, in many Mediterranean countries the temperature has increased by almost 2 °C from 1971 to 2000. Many parts of the Mediterranean region have already experienced a reduction in rainfall of up to 20 percent.
- Land-use changes include increased areas of unmanaged forests in the north and overexploitation in the south that increase the level of biotic (pests and diseases) and abiotic (fires and droughts) risks, thus reducing the possibilities for adaptation to climate change.
This complex context requires new scientific knowledge, an efficient science-policy dialogue and closed cooperation among relevant stakeholders in order to develop forest management models and policy frameworks adapted to such changing conditions.
In this context, the European Forest Institute Mediterranean Facility (EFIMED), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Silva Mediterranea and several organizations aiming to promote the coordination and cooperation on Mediterranean forests and forestry in the region wish to provide a platform through the organization of the Second Mediterranean Forest Week where relevant Mediterranean forests and forestry challenges are discussed and addressed in a concerted manner with the support of the MAAPRAT, the regional government of PACA and the Department of Vaucluse. The organizations aiming to promote the coordination on Mediterranean forestry include the International Association for Mediterranean Forests (AIFM), Arcmed, the Union of Foresters of Southern Europe (USSE), the German International Cooperation (GIZ), Plan Bleu, the Mediterranean Forest Model Network (MMFN), the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), the Forest Sciences Center of Catalonia (CTFC) and COFOR-International,
Sessions and meetings focused on:
- forest governance in the Mediterranean region;
- water and forest interactions;
- the EFIMED annual meeting and Silva Mediterranea project;
- the Arcmed General Assembly;
- the AIFM General Assembly;
- the Silva Mediterranea Enlarged Executive Committee;
- the EFIMED Seminar on Biodiversity of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems: changing the paradigm of conservation;
- the profitability (social and private) of Mediterranean forests;
- capitalizing on the past and existing Mediterranean forestry projects; and
- the Agora project.
The Second Mediterranean Forest Week was organized by the Silva Mediterranea Secretariat, the EFIMED Secretariat, AIFM, Arcmed, MFMN, COFOR-International (with the support of INRA) and the Ministry of Agriculture of France.