This working paper is an in-depth assessment of public forest institutions and policy reform in the Near East region, in particular Sudan, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Syrian Arab Republic. In addition every effort was made to capture the experience in other countries in the region and to relate them to the larger social, economic and political context. The synthesis highlights emerging opportunities for bringing timely changes in forestry institutions so that forests and woodlands are able to deliver the full range of goods and services required by society.

Mediterranean forests are considered as one of the biodiversity hotspots in the world. They provide a diversity of forest products (wood and non-wood forest products)which are the basis for socio-economic development in the Mediterranean, contributing therefore to food security and poverty alleviation in rural areas. The committee on Mediterranean Forest Questions (Silva Mediterranea ) of FAO identified the urgent need to launch the preparation of the State of Mediterranean Forests (SoMF) to enhance communication and strengthen partnership on forest issues at the regional level. This working paper presents the concept and the process to be put in place to achieve a thorough monitoring system on forest resources and policies in the Mediterranean, based on a complete set of indicators comparable at the regional scale.

Dryland mountains are of great strategic value to regional and global development. They provide up to 90% of the freshwater supply to surrounding dry lowlands. More than a quarter of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and six out of eight Vavilov Centres of Diversity are found in dryland mountains. Yet these mountain regions are under increasing threat. Published by FAO, UNCCD, Mountain Partnership, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and CDE, with the support of an international group of experts, this publication presents the socio-economy and environment of dryland mountains, the current threats they face, and good practices in sustainable development.

Following the request of sub-Saharan countries and partners, FAO has coordinated the preparation of these guidelines with the participation of a wide range of partners and experts. The guidelines are based on widely accepted international standards for sustainable forest management and are categorized under nine principles. They are intended to support those responsible for planning and managing forests and related resources in addressing the complex and inter-related issues and drivers behind forest degradation and desertification.

One of the main challenges of desertification is encroachment of moving sands, which has devastating environmental and socio-economic impacts. Mauritania, as one of the most severely affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa, has accumulated a great deal of experience in combating sand encroachment over the past several decades. This publication synthesizes the lessons learned, particularly in the implementation of a recently concluded project for rehabilitation and extension of the Nouakchott Green Belt, carried out by FAO and the Government of Mauritania with support from the Walloon Region of Belgium.

The primary objective of this document is to provide an overview of the actual and potential impact of climate change on forests and forest dependent people in the Near East region, of climate change mitigation opportunities in the forestry sector, and of needs for effective national and regional responses. The study examines the major issues and developments related to climate change impacts and responses in the region as regards forests and highlights related opportunities for regional action to address gaps and needs. FAO is working through its Regional Forestry Commissions as well as other regional and sub-regional processes to encourage regional cooperation in the area of forests and climate change. This publication is intended to provide a point of departure for identifying and catalyzing regional action to complement and enhance national efforts. The publication will be of interest to specialists and policy-makers in forestry and climate change in the Near East region as well as forest managers, students and general audiences interested in learning more about forests and climate change in the region.    

The Near East Region (including North Africa) includes a variety of climates but the xeric, arid and semi-arid conditions dominate. Forestry and foresters need to incorporate all the wealth yielded by the decade long intense international dialogue on forestry in their approaches, operations and technical packages so as to respond to the ever diversifying needs of today’s communities living in such environment. The guidelines to forestry practice help produce a number of indications and tools to help in this endeavour.

Vast expanses of dense forest may not be a typical Mediterranean image - Mediterranean forests account for a mere 1.5 percent of the total wooded surface of the planet-but forests of the countries bordering on the Mediterranean Sea have played, and continue to play, a key role in the development of local civilizations. Just as they do elsewhere, forests in the Mediterranean contribute to the production of products that are crucial to economic activity, although timber here plays a less predominant role and many different products, such as fruit, bark (cork), rubber, resins and fodder, contribute towards a diversified economy.

In recent years, the attention focused on challenges facing the tropical forests has intensified dramatically. However, nearly the totality of this attention has been directed toward the forests of the humid tropics. Even in technical documents, it is not uncommon to find statistics on the extent of tropical forests and the rates of loss or alteration followed by narrative that deals almost entirely with tropical rain forests. Much less - in fact, almost negligible - attention has been focused on the challenges of forest resource management in arid and semi-arid areas

Most anthropologists estimate that humans have been able to produce fire for some 20000 years, and have "kept" and controlled naturally occurring fire for more than 500000 years. Initially used for warmth, cooking and stimulating the growth of various forest products for food, fire soon became an indispensable adjunct to the clearing of forest land for agriculture and animal husbandry. As such, throughout history, in nearly every culture worldwide, fire has been used as a management tool. For example, during Carthaginian domination of the Mediterranean in the sixth century B.C., the plants and trees in Sardinia, Italy, were burnt to facilitate agricultural production. With the use of fire as a tool in the preparation of land for agricultural use came the realization that if fire spread out of control, the negative secondary effects often far outweighed the anticipated benefits.