08
Jul
2014
pilarvalbuena

The IV Mediterranean Forest Week will take place in Barcelona (Spain)

The Mediterranean Forest Week has been conceived as a common regional platform for cooperation on Mediterranean forests, aiming at improving the dialogue between the Mediterranean forest research community, policy-makers and the relevant stakeholders as well as at communicating to the international community and the society at large the relevance and challenges affecting Mediterranean forests.

The IV Mediterranean Forest Week will take place in Barcelona (Spain) between the 17th and 20th of March 2015.

Forests and other woodlands are an integral part of Mediterranean landscapes. They are a source of energy, water, food, tourism and many other goods and services as well as other sources of income. The value chains of several goods and services provided by these ecosystems play a key role in improving the quality of life of people in the Mediterranean region.

Even if global changes (e.g. changes in societies, lifestyles and climate) underway in the Mediterranean region have a negative impact on these ecosystems (e.g. causing forest degradation, loss of biodiversity, increased fire hazards, water scarcity and desertification), forest goods and services should be considered as a relevant opportunity to promote the development of a green economy based on sustainable forest management in the Mediterranean region. In order to meet these challenges:

• Political and administrative authorities at national, regional and local levels as well as stakeholders and the civil society, as a whole, have to adapt their strategies and regulatory frameworks to promote sustainable value chains that contribute to employment generation and to the development of a green economy in the Mediterranean;

• Forest scientists and managers are expected to develop and adapt silvicultural practices taking into account the diversity and use of forest goods and services as well as the influence of socioeconomic and climate changes, in order to improve the quality of life of Mediterranean populations.

After the success of the previous Mediterranean Forest Weeks, the Spanish authorities welcome this fourth edition in Barcelona focusing on the following issue:

“Improving livelihoods: the role of Mediterranean forest value chains in a green economy”.

English

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