Third Mediterranean Forest Week (3MFW) - Tlemcen, Algeria
The Mediterranean forests at the service of sustainable development of landscapes: mitigation and adaptation strategies to cope with global changes?
Forests and natural areas are an integral part of Mediterranean territories. They are a source of energy, food, income and many other goods and services. Global changes evident in the Mediterranean region (i.e., changes in societies, lifestyles and climate change) negatively impact these ecosystems through degradation, biodiversity loss, an increase of fire hazards and desertification, for example. To meet these challenges:
- The political and administrative authorities at national, regional and local levels, as well as the stakeholders and civil society, must adapt their strategies and methods of governance to the objectives for the sustainable development of these territories.
- Technicians are expected to develop and adapt good practices that should be broadcasted and shared.
After the success of the first two Mediterranean Forest Weeks in 2010 in Antalya, Türkiye, and in 2011 in Avignon, France, the Algerian authorities welcomed the third edition in Tlemcen on the issue of "Mediterranean forests for sustainable development of territories: what strategies of mitigation and adaptation to global change?"
This event was supported by the Algerian Government, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the French Ministry of Agriculture, the Committee on Mediterranean Forestry Questions - Silva Mediterranea and its Turkish Presidency, the German International Cooperation (GIZ), Plan Bleu, the Mediterranean Model Forests Network (MMFN), the European Forest Institute Mediterranean Facility (EFIMED), the International Association for Mediterranean Forests (AIFM) and the forest Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC).
Objectives
- strengthen exchanges and synergies between stakeholders involved in the integrated management of Mediterranean woodlands;
- launch, present and discuss the State of Mediterranean Forests (SoMF);
- present and discuss the draft of the Strategic Framework on Mediterranean Forests (SFMF) – policy orientations for the integrated management of forest ecosystems in Mediterranean landscapes;
- present and discuss a roadmap on Innovative Mechanisms for Funding (IMF);
- adopt the Declaration of Tlemcen, incorporating key elements of the SFMF and key points from the discussions of the Third Mediterranean Forest Week (3MFW);
- consult with the main potential beneficiaries of goods and services provided by the forest sector (e.g. agriculture, water, energy, environment and tourism) in order to incorporate their expectations and actions in the strategic direction of the forest sector in Mediterranean countries;
- prepare a presentation of the results of the 3MFW for the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF 10) to be held in Istanbul, Türkiye, from 9 to 18 April 2013.
Outcomes
The Tlemcen Declaration reinforces the commitment to continue implementing actions and measures in order to achieve the proposed objectives in the document entitled "Strategic Framework on Mediterranean Forests: policy orientations for integrated management of forest ecosystems in Mediterranean landscapes". The three main points are:
- Developing and promoting goods and services provided by forest ecosystems and other wooded lands in the Mediterranean through implementation of the following strategic lines;
- Promoting resilience of forest ecosystems and other wooded lands in the Mediterranean to face global changes through the implementation of the following strategic lines; and
- Enhancing capacity of stakeholders and the resources mobilization necessary for the sustainable management of forest ecosystems and other wooded lands in the Mediterranean through the implementation of the following strategic lines.
