Mediterranean Forest Weeks
The Mediterranean Forest Weeks (SFM) were conceived as a common platform for regional cooperation on Mediterranean forests, aimed at improving dialogue between the research community, political decision-makers and stakeholders, as well as communicating to the international community and society as a whole the importance of Mediterranean forests and the challenges affecting them.
Seven editions have already been held, on different shores of the Mediterranean:
1st SFM, Antalya, Turkey 2010
2nd SFM, Avignon, France, 2011
3rd SFM, Tlemcen, Algeria, 2013
4th SFM, Barcelona, Spain, 2015
5th SFM, Agadir, Morocco, 2017
6th SFM, Broummana, Lebanon, 2019
7th SFM, Antalya, Turkey, 2019
The next edition is scheduled to take place in Barcelona, Spain, in Autumn 2024.
7TH MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (MARCH 21-25, 2022, ANTALYA – TÜRKIYE)
The 7th Mediterranean Forest Week took place in Türkiye 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, 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.
6TH MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (1-5 APRIL 2019, BROUMMANA - LEBANON)
The 6th Mediterranean Forest Week took place in Lebanon, in Broummana in April 2019, on the theme Role of Mediterranean forests in the Paris Agreement: challenges and opportunities.
As a member of the Joint Organising Committee, AIFM was in charge of registration management and the organisation of a side event on “Valuing forests and preserving mass tourism”, providing participants with extensive information on the results of its INHERIT project.
More information on the dedicated website: https://vi-med.forestweek.org.
5TH MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (20-24 MARCH 2017, AGADIR - MOROCCO)
The 5th Mediterranean Forest Week took place in Morocco in March 2017, on the subject of Forest and Landscape Restoration in the Mediterranean.
AIFM was responsible for creating and managing the website, handling registrations and supporting the overall organisation. It was also involved in the content, co-organising three case study sessions on restoration in the Mediterranean.
The week also provided an opportunity to publicise the results of its MEDFORVAL project through a stand and a special side event.
4TH MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (16-20 MARCH 2015, BARCELONA - SPAIN)
The 4th Mediterranean Forest Week is taking place in Barcelona, on the Art Nouveau site of Sant Pau.
The theme of this year’s event focused on the green economy, with the title: “Improving living conditions: the role of Mediterranean forests in the green economy“.
AIFM was responsible for organising a session on Tools and initiatives to support forestry development, as well as a parallel event on Protected Areas, in conjunction with the MEDFORVAL project.
3RD MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (17-21 MARCH 2013, TLEMCEN, ALGERIA)
The 3rd Mediterranean Forest Week took place in Algeria in March 2013.
The theme of this year’s event was “Forests for the sustainable development of rural areas: strategies for mitigating and adapting to global change in Mediterranean woodlands“.
The Week’s many achievements included
The presentation of the State of Mediterranean Forests 2013 by the FAO and Plan Bleu,
The adoption of the Strategic Framework for Mediterranean Forests by the high-level segment of the Tlemcen Declaration.
The Week was punctuated by discussion forums, round tables, press conferences and a high-level segment, and ended with World Tree Day.
The field visit took place in the Tlemcen National Park (hunting reserve, cork oak forest).
AIFM was responsible for producing an information leaflet, translated into French, English, Spanish, Arabic and Turkish, and was also involved in organising sessions and preparing the two documents mentioned above.
2ND MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (5-8 APRIL 2011, AVIGNON, FRANCE)
Following the success of the first MFS, a 2nd Week was organised from 5 to 8 April 2011 in Avignon (France), hosted by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Affairs and Spatial Planning to mark the United Nations International Year of Forests. AIFM, a member of the organising committee, played an active role in the organisation of this event. Four preparatory meetings were held on 15 June (Avignon), 7 October (Rome), 9 December 2010 (Marseille) and 18 February 2011 (Avignon).
AIFM played a leading role during the Week by organising, in collaboration with Plan Bleu, the “Forests, Societies and Territories” (FST) sessions, a kind of civil forum open to all. Over 150 participants from 13 Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey) were able to exchange views and discuss the participatory management of Mediterranean woodlands over two days, enabling a rich sharing of experiences between the various players, whether forest owners, managers, local or national elected representatives or private individuals.
1ST MEDITERRANEAN FOREST WEEK (13-16 APRIL 2010, ANTALYA, TÜRKIYE)
The 1st Mediterranean Forest Week was organised in Antalya (Türkiye) from 13 to 16 April 2010 by the Silva Mediterranea Committee (FAO), in conjunction with EFIMED, AIFM, Plan Bleu, the Turkish Government and the Association of Forest Engineers of Turkey.
The event brought together more than 150 forestry experts from the Mediterranean basin. A workshop, in which AIFM participated, led to the collective adoption of a position paper on the role of forests in rural development and food security. The paper was intended for the Agriculture Ministers of the Union for the Mediterranean, and was to be presented to them at a ministerial conference scheduled for 15 and 16 June 2010 in Cairo (Egypt). It was finally postponed.
