50. Mr. Lanly introduced document FO:SCM/92/9 which contained a first, summary version of a Mediterranean Forest Action Programme, in conformity with the recommendation made by the Committee at its fourteenth session and the appeal contained in the Declaration of Paris.
51. The Committee reaffirmed its interest in a regional forestry initiative and endorsed the concept of a Mediterranean Forest Action Programme. it stressed the need for an individual programme which would take into account the specific physical, social, economic and cultural context of the Mediterranean region and the specific nature of its forestry problems.
52. The Committee agreed that the Programme should be seen as a general conceptual framework of action for the entire region, within which each country could, possibly with the help of the international community, draw up plans and strategies and formulate and implement priority programmes and projects. It recognized the interest that the Programme also presented for the development of actions at regional and sub-regional levels.
53. The Committee recommended that in the final version of the Programme it should be made clearer that the main objective was to combat degradation of the Mediterranean forest and improve its management. Since most of the causes of degradation of the forest lay outside the forestry sector itself, the Committee stressed the importance of an integrated and multidisciplinary approach with regard to both the general conceptual framework of the programme and its application within each country, where it should involve those responsible for and working in all the sectors concerned.
54. The Committee recommended that the problems and proposals for action in the region's northern countries be treated more fully and precisely in the Programme, and that the decisions taken by UNCED and the results of the negotiations now under way on international agreements on the environment also be taken into account.
55. The Committee also recommended that in its final version the Programme deal in more detail with certain important questions, in particular those relating to demography, forestry research, management of the natural forests, the role of the forest in water flow and quality, and the introduction of forestry themes into school programmes.
56. The Committee recognized the need for a sufficiently flexible approach in the application of the programme at national level, bearing in mind each country's specific conditions and existing plans and programmes.
57. The Committee noted that its conclusions and recommendations on the Programme, together with the revised version, would be transmitted for information to the three Regional Forestry Commissions with which the Committee is linked, and for approval to FAO's Governing Bodies.
