Press release
June 20th, 2011
In the framework of the International Year of Forests 2011, a regional conference will take place on the topic: “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Recognizing and capturing the value of forest ecosystem services in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) ». The conference is hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Tunisia in cooperation with WWF MedPo and GIZ, acting on behalf of the German federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development. The conference will be held on June 28th and 29th 2011 in Tunis.
Mediterranean forests, including those in the MENA region, have specific features which make them a unique world natural heritage. Additionally, they provide a wide array of benefits that have a high potential to contribute to local economies. Higher pressure on natural resources, combined with a lack of information on many of their benefits has contributed in increasing forest degradation leading to a decrease of ecosystem service provision. “Their future is seriously endangered by rapid and drastic climate and land-use changes, which add to long-lasting problems related to forest fires, forest over-exploitation and the advance of desertification in the region”. Thus, there is a need to raise awareness on the value of Mediterranean forests, especially those of the MENA region, and a necessity to implement Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) mechanisms.
The continued loss and degradation of forests is partly due to rapid population changes, forest fires, climate change, but also due to the fact that many important forest ecosystems have no markets, and hence, no apparent economic value, justifying the use of forest land for other purposes. Maintaining forest ecosystems requires the explicit recognition of their benefits, proper valuation of their goods and services, as well as consideration of the costs of their degradation.
The event will highlight the importance of Mediterranean forest ecosystems for livelihoods and economic development in the MENA region. It will discuss how to proper valuate forest goods and services as well as how to take into account the cost of forest degradation when making decisions. Additionally, it will discuss the challenges and opportunities for developing concrete initiatives and development policies in the region which will recognize forest ecosystems as a source of improved, more sustainable and equitable development and economic growth. International and national top level experts will share their experiences and knowledge with the audience. This will include the presentation of a variety of economic mechanisms for supporting sound forest ecosystem use and management, e.g. environmental fiscal reform, access and benefit sharing, environmental funds, as well as the potential of various types of payments for ecosystem services for the MENA-region, REDD+ and others.
The conference will focus on the partner countries of the “Collaborative Partnership on Mediterranean Forests” (CPMF) which are Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. Because of all the links between forest, water, tourism, agriculture, climate, etc. which imply costs and benefits for the MENA society, the event will also be the place for an inter-sectoral dialogue.
The four main objectives of the conference are:
1. to introduce main concepts, elements and strategies related to the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity with a focus on forest ecosystems,
2. to increase the awareness on the importance of forest ecosystem services (FES) in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, in particular in regard to adaptation and mitigation to Climate Change,
3. to exchange experiences from existing initiatives on economic valuation and finance mechanisms for forest ecosystems and biodiversity protection in the MENA region,
4. and to identify opportunities and concrete initiatives for integrating FES and biodiversity into development planning in MENA countries and for the design of sustainable finance mechanisms for Sustainable Forest Management
