Science calls on the European Comission to take into account the uniqueness of the Mediterranean forest

The Mediterranean forest suffers from a lack of management due to its peculiarities: low productivity, low economic profitability of its use, lack of incentives, lack of timber industry and different types of ownership, among others. This situation affects its biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides. That is why science demands management aimed at guaranteeing challenges such as its survival, resilience and adaptation to climate change.

There are recommendations linked to the European Forestry Strategy 2030, to get the support of European public policies to the management of the Mediterranean forest.

This is the starting point for the recent presentation to the European Commission of a series of policy recommendations by the partners of 8 Life project research groups in which CREAF is involved. The proposed actions linked to the European Forestry Strategy 2030, in order to obtain the support of European public policies for the management of the Mediterranean forest, which is especially vulnerable to climate change.

The involved in the projects are Adapt Aleppo, Agro for adapt, Forest CO2, Life Resilient forests, MIDMACC (coordinated by CREAF), Mix for change, Systemic and Wood for future. The scientific team leading these projects is also working on agroforestry and pastoral systems, with a regenerative and soil conservation perspective, which is why it also claims that Community agricultural policy must take into account the needs of the Mediterranean area.

The target entities of the proposal are representatives of the General Directorates of Climate and the Environment, specialists linked to the different Life projectes of the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), professionals from the European Forest Institute (EFI), from the Confederation of European Forest Ownerss (CEPF), as well as delegations from regional governments, among others.

"It is a great milestone: for the first time we have proposed claims and solutions from the direct protagonists of the territory, collected by research projects and we have addressed them in a collegial way to those responsible for decision-making"

“Action from Europe must avoid unique and homogeneous approaches and must be adapted to the characteristics and needs of each territory”, according to CREAF researcher Eduard Pla Ferrer –involved in the MIDMACC project together with researcher Diana Pascual Sánchez– and who attended the document's presentation. "It is a great milestone: for the first time we have proposed solutions and demands from the actors in the territory, collected by the different projects and we have addressed them in a collegial way to those responsible for decision-making", according to Eduard Pla Ferrer. The two CREAF researchers highlight the opportunity to propose solutions to those responsible for environmental and territorial policies directly linked to CREAF’s research and to the day-to-day work of many related sectors.

The main recommendations contained in the document are:

• Improve the skills and training of forestry professionals in sustainable forest management in the Mediterranean.
• Encourage sustainable forest management, avoiding administrative burdens, and that agricultural policies adequately recognize Mediterranean silviopastoral systems.
• To promote the collective action of the different protagonists involved in the forestry field, which facilitates its management and its viability.
• Ensuring and monitoring the conservation of genetic diversity, which is essential in a context of climate change.
• Design, implement and evaluate forest policies taking into account an intersectoral and global perspective, facilitating interaction with those involved at the territorial level and promoting proper governance of relations between rural and urban areas.

“Informing and influencing public policy is already a goal of Life projects”, recalls CREAF researcher Eduard Pla Ferrer. The scientific team that promoted the proposal said that it was well received, especially for its specificity and the specialized scientific knowledge it provides.