The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are enabling the project to restore biodiversity in the Mediterranean through the restoration of forests and landscapes, particularly in Morocco.
A statement from the UfM specifies that in order to support the implementation of forest and landscape restoration practices in the region, the UfM and the FAO pledge the project “Scaling up forest and landscape restoration to restore the biodiversity and promote common approaches to mitigation and adaptation.
The initiative aims to strike a balance between restoring ecosystem services related to wildlife habitats, biodiversity, water regulation, carbon storage and support for natural functions. productive land for agriculture and other related uses, the statement said, adding that the project proactively involves all land users while applying participatory decision-making processes.
With a budget of €1,850,000 over a period of 4 years, the project represents the Mediterranean component of a larger global project entitled “The Paris Agreement in action:
The endorsement of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) has enabled certain Mediterranean countries to benefit from specialized technical assistance on the fight once morest land degradation and the use of climate financing instruments.
In the case of Morocco, the UfM reports a new participatory management plan for the Maâmora forest and restoration activities in the Ifrane model forest.
The Maâmora forest is the largest cork oak forest in the world, located on the Moroccan Atlantic plain between Rabat and Kenitra. 1918, the Department of Water and Forests of Morocco has made impressive efforts for the conservation and development of forests in the region, notes the UfM.
However, the same source indicates, despite these concerted efforts, an approximate area of 300,000 hectares of cork oak is today partly degraded forest due to climate change and unsustainable human activities, noting that the systematic collection glands for human consumption, overgrazing and timber harvesting have led to high aridity which has exacerbated the general disappearance of the forest area.
With FAO support, Morocco’s Department of Water and Forests has been able to develop a management plan that includes participatory capacity-building approaches and a socio-economic development plan, so that the local population can play a role central in restoration and conservation efforts to rehabilitate the Maâmora forest.
According to the UfM, the management plan foresees the establishment of innovative contracts with local communities to guarantee compensation for the temporary loss of pasture in the implementation of restoration projects, stating that this has led to the development of new value chains such as truffle harvesting to provide alternative sources of income to local forest-dependent communities.
Degraded areas slated for restoration have been overcome through a comprehensive assessment of existing restoration best practices and a socio-economic study to assess the current impact of local people on key forest resources.
This management plan will consist of a pilot test on 3,423 hectares of land designated for restoration purposes with the involvement of local stakeholders.
