Mediterranean Forest Weeks

The Mediterranean Forest Weeks have 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 idea of a regional cooperation on Mediterranean forests is old (1911), but it is the organization in 2008 of the first “European Forest Week” which will be the trigger for the adoption of the name “Mediterranean Forest Week” in 2010. For more information, an article on the genesis, structuring and evolution of these weeks is available.

Seven editions have been held so far, on the different shores of the Mediterranean:

  • 1st MFW, Antalya, Turkey, 2010
  • 2nd MFW, Avignon, France, 2011
  • 3rd MFW, Tlemcen, Algeria, 2013
  • 4th MFW, Barcelona, Spain, 2015
  • 5th MFW, Agadir, Morocco, 2017
  • 6th MFW, Brummana, Lebanon, 2019
  • 7th MFW, Antalya, Turkey, 2022

The next edition will take place in Barcelona from the 4th to the 8th November 2024. 


7TH MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (MARCH 21TH-25TH, 2022, ANTALYA – TURKEY)

The 7th Mediterranean Forest Week took place in Turkey in Kemer, near Antalya, in March 2022, on the theme “Restoring Forests and Ecosystems for the Next Mediterranean Generation“. 

As a member of the Organizing Committee, the AIFM was responsible for managing registration, organizing, and moderating a plenary session and organizing two side events.  

At the end of this event the Antalya Declaration and the Youth Declaration were adopted. 

The final version of the proceedings is available in English here.

 

6TH MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (APRIL 1ST-5TH, 2019, LEBANON)

The 6th Mediterranean Forest Week took place in Lebanon, in Brummana in April 2019, on the theme Role of Mediterranean Forests in the Paris Agreement: Challenges and Opportunities

As a member of the Joint Organizing Committee, AIFM was in charge of managing the registration and organizing a side event on “Valorization of forests and preservation of mass tourism” and thus widely informing the participants on the results of its INHERIT project.

During this 6MFW, the Brummana Declaration was adopted (in french) by the participants of the high-level segment.

The proceedings of this week have been published in a special issue.


5TH MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (MARCH 20TH-24TH, 2017, MOROCCO)

The 5th Mediterranean Forest Week was held in Morocco, in Agadir in March 2017, on the issue of the Restoration of forests and landscapes in the Mediterranean.

AIFM was in charge of the creation and management of the website, the management of registration and support to the general organization. It also contributed to the content, with the co-organization of three sessions of restoration case studies in the Mediterranean. 

This week also allowed AIFM celebrate its 20th anniversary and to inform widely on the results of its MEDFORVAL project through a stand and a specific side event.

During this 5MFW, the Agadir commitment was adopted (in french) by the participants of the high-level segment.

The proceedings of this week have been published in a special issue.


4TH MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (MARCH 16TH-20ST, 2015, BARCELONA, SPAIN)

The 4th Mediterranean Forest Week took place in Spain, in Barcelona in March 2015.

The theme of this edition focused on green economy, with the title: “Improving livelihoods: the role of Mediterranean forest value chains in a green economy”

AIFM was responsible for the organisation of a session dedicated to tools and initiatives to support forest development, as well as a side event on the theme of Protected Areas, in connection with the MEDFORVAL project.

During this 4MFW, the Barcelona Declaration was adopted (in french) by the participants of the high-level segment.

The proceedings of this week have been published in a special issue.


3RD MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (MARCH 17TH-21ST, 2013, TLEMCEN, ALGERIA)

The 3rd Mediterranean Forest Week was held in Algeria, in Tlemcen in March 2013.

For this new edition, the proposed theme is “Forests for the sustainable development in rural areas: what strategies for mitigation and adaptation to global changes in Mediterranean wooded lands?”.

Among the many goals of the week, it may be noted:

  • The launch of the State of Mediterranean Forests 2013 by FAO and the Plan Bleu,
  • The adoption of the Strategic Framework on Mediterranean forests by the High level segment.

Discussion forums, roundtables, press conferences and a high-level segment intersped this Week which ended on the World Day of the Tree. The field trip took place in Tlemcen National Park (hunting reserve, cork oak forest).

AIFM was responsible for editing and printing an information leaflet, translated into French, English, Spanish, Arabic and Turkish; it was also involved in the organisation of sessions and the preparation of the two aforementioned documents.

During this 3MFW, the Tlemcen Declaration was adopted (in french) by the participants of the high-level segment.

The proceedings of this week have been published in a special issue.


2ND MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (APRIL 5TH-8TH, 2011, AVIGNON, FRANCE)

After the success of the 1st Week, a 2nd Week was held in France, in Avignon in April 2011, hosted by the French Ministry of Agriculture on the occasion of the UN International Year of Forests. AIFM, a member of the organizing committee, has actively participated in organizing this event.

AIFM has played a leading role during this week by organizing, in collaboration with the Plan Bleu, the “Forests, societies and territories” (FST) sessions, a kind of a Open-Door Forum. More than 150 participants over two days from 13 Mediterranean countries were able to exchange and discuss on participatory management of Mediterranean forests. A rich sharing of experiences between the different actors, whether forest owners, managers, elected local or national people or private individuals.

The proceedings of this week have been published in a special issue.


1ST MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (APRIL 13TH-16TH, 2010, ANTALYA, TURKEY)

The 1st Mediterranean Forest Week was organized in Turkey, in Antalya in April 2010 by the Silva Mediterranea Committee (FAO), together with EFIMED, AIFM, Plan Bleu, the Turkish Government and the Turkish Association of Forest Engineers.

The event brought together more than 150 forest experts from the Mediterranean basin. A workshop, in which AIFM was involved, allowed the collective adoption of a Declaration (position paper) on the role of forests in rural development and food security. It was intented for the Ministers of Agriculture of the Union for the Mediterranean and should have been had delivered to them at a ministerial conference on 15 and 16 June 2010 in Egypt in Cairo. It was eventually postponed.

The proceedings of this week have been published in a special issue.