February 2011: The January 2011 issue of the newsletter of Silva Mediterranea, a statutory body of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), looks at a newly formed partnership, the Collaborative Partnership on Mediterranean Forests, and reviews the outcomes of a workshop on forest policy and climate change in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region.

The workshop, titled “Adapting forest policy conditions to climate change in the MENA region,” was held in Istanbul, Turkey, from 28 September -1 October 2010. The purpose of the workshop was to design the first year operational plan of the regional project on adapting forest policy, which includes: conducting analyses on climate change vulnerability and potential for payments for environmental services; building inter-institutional relations with other sectors; raising public awareness; and mobilizing external support and partnership. During the workshop, the Collaborative Partnership on Mediterranean Forests was signed, to develop synergies between different institutions involved in regional cooperation on Mediterranean forests, with the common goal of the sustainable management of Mediterranean forest ecosystems.

The newsletter also highlights outcomes of the Silva Mediterranea side event held during the 2010 meeting of the FAO’s Committee on Forestry, and looks forwards to the second Mediterranean Forest Week, to be held in Avignon, France, frome 5-8 April 2011. [Publication: Silva Mediterranea Newsletter 6]