11 April 2011
FAO Creates Partnership for Mediterranean Forests
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During the Second Mediterranean Forest Week, the FAO and 11 other organizations and institutions created the Collaborative Partnership on Mediterranean Forests, which will focus on climate change adaptation in Mediterranean forests.

6 April 2011: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has created a new partnership with 11 other organizations and institutions to tackle the threats of climate change facing forests in the Mediterranean region. The announcement came during the Second Mediterranean Forest Week, held from 5-8 April 2011, in Avignon, France.

The partnership, named the Collaborative Partnership on Mediterranean Forests, will focus on countries in the southern and eastern regions of the Mediterranean, namely Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. The Partnership aims to: integrate policies and investments for forest adaptation at the country level; develop a joint regional approach to forest management, in particular for wildfire prevention, and sharing of expertise and best practices; and promote sustainable forest management (SFM) among all stakeholders at the local level. Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Assistant Director-General of the FAO Forestry Department, underscored that the Partnership will “help raise awareness on the wealth of vital functions Mediterranean forests provide.”

Several other events took place during Mediterranean Forest Week. Sessions were held on, inter alia: forest governance; forests and water; the profitability of Mediterranean forests; and Mediterranean biodiversity. General meetings of the Association of Mediterranean Forest Owners, International Association for Mediterranean Forests, Silva Mediterranea, and the Mediterranean Regional Office of the European Forest Institute were also held throughout the week. [UN Press Release] [Mediterranean Forest Week Website]

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