Five-year review of the Agadir Commitment
The Agadir Commitment was adopted as a result of the Fifth Mediterranean Forest Week, held in Agadir, Morocco, in March 2017. This commitment to improve forest and landscape restoration (FLR), land degradation neutrality (LDN) and biodiversity conservation efforts in the Mediterranean region was endorsed by ten countries (Algeria, France, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey) and strongly supported by several international organizations. The commitment supports a new Regional Mediterranean Initiative on Forest and Land Restoration, which will contribute to the achievement of the Bonn Challenge and Sustainable Development Goal 15.
More specifically, this regional initiative aims to restore 8 million hectares of degraded lands by 2030. Five years after the commitment was adopted, the Silva Mediterranea secretariat is conducting a survey to assess the restoration activities being promoted and implemented in the region. This assessment aims to understand how restoration is integrated in national and regional targets and to estimate the area under restoration.
A survey consisting of multiple data-searching criteria was launched to collect preliminary data for this assessment based on three main data sources:
• projects being implemented in the Mediterranean region where restoration activities have been conducted since 2017;
• publications such as academic papers, articles and reports on the number of hectares being reforested in Mediterranean countries since 2017; and
• the expertise and knowledge of Silva Mediterranea national focal points and regional experts who were contacted to provide support for the data collection and validate the information.
All Silva Mediterranea member countries will be asked to validate the findings of parallel research. A report on the implementation and progress of the Agadir Commitment is expected to be published by the end of 2022.
Lucia Rivera Lima (FAO), Giovanni Di Matteo (FAO)
