As part of the Mediterranean component of the project “The Paris Agreement in Action” funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), FAO, in collaboration with the GIP ECOFOR, the Union for the Mediterranean and the Mediterranean Facility of the European Forest Institute, organized some regional training from 16 to 20 May 2022 in Montpellier, France, to build capacity on carbon benefits from forest and landscape restoration (FLR) and the contribution of FLR to nationally determined contributions (NDCs). 

There is clearly an urgent need to act to halt land degradation and restore degraded land. There are many national, regional and global goals for FLR. The challenge is to conserve the main cultural landscapes while restoring the most degraded or threatened ecosystems. In view of these global and regional goals and ambitious new national commitments, it is important to identify and properly implement low-cost, long-term strategies for landscape restoration. 

Such practices generally have a positive impact, helping to produce many ecosystem services, limit climate risks, increase productivity and reduce yield variability, protect soils, strengthen natural buffers against disasters, recharge aquifers, protect biodiversity, reduce sedimentation, store carbon and generate benefits, livelihoods and employment opportunities for poor people in rural areas. 

Among the many benefits that can be provided by FLR, the importance of carbon sequestration and storage is increasing. It is now recognized that the restoration of degraded or deforested land can significantly increase carbon levels in soils and in rehabilitated vegetation. These carbon gains can go hand in hand with tangible economic benefits and improved livelihoods for communities, making FLR attractive to local populations and meaning it is an effective way to sequester carbon and help slow the effects of climate change. By reducing the pressure on existing forests, FLR also helps avoid emissions of carbon stored in these forest ecosystems. 

Some countries have calculated their national carbon sequestration potential. The national FLR assessment includes an estimate of the amount of carbon that could be captured through the restoration of degraded and deforested land identified as available and suitable for restoration. While there is no doubt that the restoration of degraded primary and secondary forests with high rates of biomass growth would be the most efficient way to store as much carbon as possible, improving agricultural fallows and the practice of agroforestry to restore degraded lands also provide opportunities for storing carbon, given the surfaces concerned. 

The main objective of the workshop was therefore to build capacity on the restoration of degraded Mediterranean forest landscapes, focusing on topics such as the carbon costs and benefits of FLR and the contribution of FLR to NDCs. It also provided an opportunity to share experiences and expertise, thus contributing to regional dynamics and knowledge sharing. 

The workshop was attended by the four organizing institutions, five North African and Near Eastern countries, with 11 experts from Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. A total of 19 speakers both attending in person and virtually were invited. 

Besides the sessions with online and in-person speakers, the workshop included a field trip to the experimental site of Puéchabon and two practical sessions on the FAO tools EXACT and NEXT. 

On the last two days, time was allocated for countries to present their experiences and strategies in FLR and in carbon estimation related to FLR and NDCs. Each country introduced case studies and projects on the restoration of degraded land. This also provided an opportunity to better define needs that could be supported by regional cooperation. 

Valentina Garavaglia (FAO), Giovanbattista DeDato (FAO) and Giovanni DiMatteo (FAO)