State of Mediterranean Forests 2013

State of Mediterranean Forests 2013. Allard, G., Berrahmouni, N., Besacier, C., Boglio, D., Briens, M., Brizay, A., Camia, A., Colletti, L., Conigliaro, M., D'Annunzio, R., Ducci, F., Duclercq, M., Dupuy, J., Fady, B., Fages, B., Garavaglia, V., Gauthier, M., Giraud, J., Huc, R., González-Mart́\inez, Santiago C., Gouriveau, F., Gracia, C., Lefèvre, F., Mavsar, R., Michel, E., Milano, M., Moore, B., Mutke, S., Muys, B., Numa, C., Palahi, M., Piazzetta, R., Piqué, M., Plana, E., Rego, F., Rigolot, E., Salbitano, F., Sanesi, G., San-Miguel-Ayanz, J., Sebastià, M. T., Solano, D., Valdebarrano, M., Vayrand, R., Vendramin, G. G., Anguita, G., Besacier, C., Buttoud, G., Caccianiga, M., Florian, D., Houston Durrant, T., Jonsson, O., Legros, D., Mariano, A., Santos, V., Sarmiento, T., Sarre, A. D., Steierer, F., & Vantomme, P. FAO, 2013.
abstract bibtex

[Abstract] Forest ecosystems and other wooded lands are an important component of landscapes in the Mediterranean region, contributing significantly to rural development, poverty alleviation and food security. They are sources of wood, cork, energy, food and incomes, and they provide important ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation, soil and water protection, recreation and carbon storage. They are crucial for many of the region's economic sectors, such as food supply, agriculture, soil and water conservation, drinking water supply, tourism and energy. The State of Mediterranean Forests 2013 (SoMF 2013) represents a major effort of the FAO Committee on Mediterranean Forestry Questions-Silva mediterranea and Plan Bleu, FAO's Forestry Department, Silva Mediterranea member countries, partners and individual experts many of which gave freely their time and expertise. [Conclusions] The Mediterranean region will be strongly affected by climate change. Data published in this first State of Mediterranean Forests confirm once more that climate change is already a reality in the region. During the twentieth century, temperatures have increased on average by more than 1°C in the south-western Europe (Iberian Peninsula and southern France) and the trend is clearly accelerating since the 1970s. This is also evident in Mediterranean North African territories. In some parts of southern and eastern Mediterranean region, there was also a decline in rainfall of up to 20\,%. The current climate change is expected to continue and intensify in the coming decades throughout the region and, by 2100, temperatures are expected to increase by an average of 2°C to 4°C, precipitations could decrease by 4\,% to 30\,% while the sea level would probably rise by 18 to 59 cm. The vulnerability of Mediterranean countries to climate change is also related to the constant degradation of water resources (e.g. overexploitation, pollution, salinization, reduced rainfall) and to the increase of water demand by agricultural, urban and energy sectors. According to climate scenarios, water availability in some countries of southern and eastern Mediterranean region could be divided by four as a result of a reduction in precipitations. The increased variability in spatial and temporal distribution of precipitations will lead to extreme climatic events (floods, heat waves, droughts, etc.), hazards often associated to disastrous human and economic losses. The effects of climate change, observed and predicted, and in particular the increase of extremes events, are carrying new threats and risks that will exacerbate existing pressures, environmental degradation and vulnerability of Mediterranean ecosystems and populations. As a result, the Mediterranean environment will probably suffer major changes, sometimes irreversible, affecting the most vulnerable forest ecosystems (e.g. populations at the edge of the species distribution area). Water scarcity will probably affect more Mediterranean countries in the next years. This will have serious consequences on the well-being of populations and local economies and will increase pressures on the environment and cause land degradation. Moreover, it should be noted that overcrowded forest stands, due to the lack of forest management, may be more vulnerable to natural hazards such as pest, disease and forest fires. Strategies for the management of Mediterranean forests should carefully take in account issues related to water scarcity in order to strengthen their resilience and to equally distribute resources, based on the needs of different sectors of national economies. In this context, several regional initiatives are already underway to mitigate impacts of climate change on Mediterranean forest ecosystems and other woodlands, however improvements are strongly required. Four major initiatives should be supported in the long term: 1. Improve sharing available information on Mediterranean forest ecosystems and other wooded lands with the publication, every five years, of the State of Mediterranean Forests. The publication of the State of Mediterranean Forests 2013 shows that countries are fully aware of the need to have a tool to assess and monitor their situation to provide appropriate responses to global changes in the Mediterranean region. 2. Develop and implement a shared vision through the implementation of the recommendations adopted in March 2013 during the Third Mediterranean Forest Week (Tlemcen, Algeria) with the Tlemcen Declaration and the document entitled '' Strategic Framework on Mediterranean Forests (SFMF): policy orientations for integrated management of forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean''. 3. Strengthen the regional cooperation between territories around the Mediterranean Sea with i) the development of the Collaborative Partnership on Mediterranean Forests (CPMF), ii) the implementation of the Mediterranean Forest Research Agenda (MFRA 2010-2020) managed by EFIMED and iii)strengthening the coordinating role of the Committee on Mediterranean Forestry Questions-Silva Mediterranea. 4. Mobilize financial resources to reduce the impacts of climate change on Mediterranean forest ecosystems and other wooded lands. Regarding the mobilization of financial resources, it would be necessary to adapt the existing financial mechanisms and also create innovative financing mechanisms to support implementation of forest policies.

@book{allardStateMediterraneanForests2013,
  title = {State of {{Mediterranean}} Forests 2013},
  author = {Allard, Gillian and Berrahmouni, Nora and Besacier, Christophe and Boglio, Denis and Briens, Marion and Brizay, Arnaud and Camia, Andrea and Colletti, Lorenzah and Conigliaro, Michela and D'Annunzio, Remi and Ducci, Fulvio and Duclercq, Marion and Dupuy, Jean-Luc and Fady, Bruno and Fages, Bertille and Garavaglia, Valentina and Gauthier, Michelle and Giraud, Jean-Pierre and Huc, Roland and {Gonz{\'a}lez-Mar{\'t}{\i}nez}, Santiago C. and Gouriveau, Fabrice and Gracia, Carles and Lef{\`e}vre, Fran{\c c}ois and Mavsar, Robert and Michel, Edouard and Milano, Marianne and Moore, Beverly and Mutke, Sven and Muys, Bart and Numa, Catherine and Palahi, Marc and Piazzetta, Renaud and Piqu{\'e}, Miriam and Plana, Eduard and Rego, Francisco and Rigolot, Eric and Salbitano, Fabio and Sanesi, Giovanni and {San-Miguel-Ayanz}, Jes{\'u}s and Sebasti{\`a}, Maria T. and Solano, David and Valdebarrano, Marcos and Vayrand, Remi and Vendramin, Giovanni G. and Anguita, Gonzalo and Besacier, Christophe and Buttoud, G{\'e}rard and Caccianiga, Marco and Florian, Diego and Houston Durrant, Tracy and Jonsson, Orjan and Legros, Dominique and Mariano, Angelo and Santos, Vera and Sarmiento, Tatiana and Sarre, Alastair D. and Steierer, Florian and Vantomme, Paul},
  editor = {Besacier, Christophe and Cenciarelli, Roberto and Giraud, Jean-Pierre and Garavaglia, Valentina and Sarre, Alastair D.},
  year = {2013},
  publisher = {{FAO}},
  abstract = {[Abstract] Forest ecosystems and other wooded lands are an important component of landscapes in the Mediterranean region, contributing significantly to rural development, poverty alleviation and food security. They are sources of wood, cork, energy, food and incomes, and they provide important ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation, soil and water protection, recreation and carbon storage. They are crucial for many of the region's economic sectors, such as food supply, agriculture, soil and water conservation, drinking water supply, tourism and energy. The State of Mediterranean Forests 2013 (SoMF 2013) represents a major effort of the FAO Committee on Mediterranean Forestry Questions-Silva mediterranea and Plan Bleu, FAO's Forestry Department, Silva Mediterranea member countries, partners and individual experts many of which gave freely their time and expertise.

[Conclusions] The Mediterranean region will be strongly affected by climate change. Data published in this first State of Mediterranean Forests confirm once more that climate change is already a reality in the region. During the twentieth century, temperatures have increased on average by more than 1\textdegree C in the south-western Europe (Iberian Peninsula and southern France) and the trend is clearly accelerating since the 1970s. This is also evident in Mediterranean North African territories. In some parts of southern and eastern Mediterranean region, there was also a decline in rainfall of up to 20\,\%. The current climate change is expected to continue and intensify in the coming decades throughout the region and, by 2100, temperatures are expected to increase by an average of 2\textdegree C to 4\textdegree C, precipitations could decrease by 4\,\% to 30\,\% while the sea level would probably rise by 18 to 59 cm. The vulnerability of Mediterranean countries to climate change is also related to the constant degradation of water resources (e.g. overexploitation, pollution, salinization, reduced rainfall) and to the increase of water demand by agricultural, urban and energy sectors. According to climate scenarios, water availability in some countries of southern and eastern Mediterranean region could be divided by four as a result of a reduction in precipitations. The increased variability in spatial and temporal distribution of precipitations will lead to extreme climatic events (floods, heat waves, droughts, etc.), hazards often associated to disastrous human and economic losses. The effects of climate change, observed and predicted, and in particular the increase of extremes events, are carrying new threats and risks that will exacerbate existing pressures, environmental degradation and vulnerability of Mediterranean ecosystems and populations. As a result, the Mediterranean environment will probably suffer major changes, sometimes irreversible, affecting the most vulnerable forest ecosystems (e.g. populations at the edge of the species distribution area). Water scarcity will probably affect more Mediterranean countries in the next years. This will have serious consequences on the well-being of populations and local economies and will increase pressures on the environment and cause land degradation. Moreover, it should be noted that overcrowded forest stands, due to the lack of forest management, may be more vulnerable to natural hazards such as pest, disease and forest fires. Strategies for the management of Mediterranean forests should carefully take in account issues related to water scarcity in order to strengthen their resilience and to equally distribute resources, based on the needs of different sectors of national economies. In this context, several regional initiatives are already underway to mitigate impacts of climate change on Mediterranean forest ecosystems and other woodlands, however improvements are strongly required.

Four major initiatives should be supported in the long term: 1. Improve sharing available information on Mediterranean forest ecosystems and other wooded lands with the publication, every five years, of the State of Mediterranean Forests. The publication of the State of Mediterranean Forests 2013 shows that countries are fully aware of the need to have a tool to assess and monitor their situation to provide appropriate responses to global changes in the Mediterranean region. 2. Develop and implement a shared vision through the implementation of the recommendations adopted in March 2013 during the Third Mediterranean Forest Week (Tlemcen, Algeria) with the Tlemcen Declaration and the document entitled '' Strategic Framework on Mediterranean Forests (SFMF): policy orientations for integrated management of forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean''. 3. Strengthen the regional cooperation between territories around the Mediterranean Sea with i) the development of the Collaborative Partnership on Mediterranean Forests (CPMF), ii) the implementation of the Mediterranean Forest Research Agenda (MFRA 2010-2020) managed by EFIMED and iii)strengthening the coordinating role of the Committee on Mediterranean Forestry Questions-Silva Mediterranea. 4. Mobilize financial resources to reduce the impacts of climate change on Mediterranean forest ecosystems and other wooded lands. Regarding the mobilization of financial resources, it would be necessary to adapt the existing financial mechanisms and also create innovative financing mechanisms to support implementation of forest policies.},
  isbn = {978-92-5-107984-3},
  keywords = {*imported-from-citeulike-INRMM,~INRMM-MiD:c-13160154,climate-change,climate-extremes,disturbances,environmental-policy,floods,forest-fires,forest-resources,heatwaves,mediterranean-region,multiauthor,science-policy-interface,statistics,water-scarcity,wildfires},
  lccn = {INRMM-MiD:c-13160154}
}

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