FFEM project – Component 3: Improve modes of governance of forest ecosystems at territorial scale

Involve all stakeholders on the pilot sites, from forestry and other sectors, in the management of forested areas

Participatory approaches developed and disseminated through the project aim to facilitate consultation and participation of all stakeholders in forested areas (owners, managers, local decision makers, users of goods and services, etc.) in management decisions for these territories and their implementation.

Involving multiple users of a territory in its management and developmentwill enable to both take into account their needs in terms of services provided by ecosystems and raise awareness on their vulnerability.

These participatory initiatives will strengthen the dialogue and cooperation between the forest sector and other sectors involved in woodlands management (water, agriculture, energy, tourism, environment, land management, etc.).

Collectively reflect on the long-term

Participatory approaches include a prospective dimension to bring multiple stakeholders to understand the management of their territory with a long-term vision and to better understand and anticipate the impactof exogenous drivers (e.g. climate change) or endogenous decisions (forest management methods and human activities affecting forests) on the ecosystem and the services it provides, providing valuable insights to guide strategic choices towards sustainability.

To reach these objectives, the component 3 is divided into three phases:

Phase 1: Capitalization on participatory approaches in the Mediterranean and development of a methodological approach to be tested in the pilot sites of the project

• Production of a report and methodology sheets presenting a range of approaches, methods and tools used for the participatory management of territories, their strengths and weaknesses with regards to specific Mediterranean forested areas, and recommendations for the design and implementation of participatory initiatives in the pilot sites
• Organization of a regional workshop on participatory approaches, to present and discuss the processes, methods and tools for participatory governance, and define methodological approaches that will be implemented in the pilot sites
• For each country, definition of the methodology of participatory governance adapted to the specificities of its pilot site, in particular during a national meeting.

Phase 2: Implementation of participatory initiatives on the 5 pilot sites

Methodological approaches for each pilot sites of partner countries:

• Chréa National Park in Algeria
• Jabal Moussa Biosphere Reserve in Lebanon
• Maamora forest in Morocco
• Barbara watershed in Tunisia
• Düzlerçami forest in Türkiye

National studies results:

• Parc national de Chréa, Algérie + Annexes
• Forêt de la Maâmora, Maroc + Annexes
• Bentael Natural Reserve, Lebanon
• Bassin versant de Barbara, Tunisie
• Düzlerçami Forest – Türkiye

Phase 3: Regional workshop to present and exchange experiences, and final synthesis document for component 3

• A regional workshop was organized by Plan Bleu from the 27th to the 29th of October, 2015 in Nice, France, in partnership with the Focal Points and thematic experts, to share experiences and further reflect on methodologicalapproaches.
• A regional synthesis was published analysing and synthetising all the activities and results of the component, as well as two pratical guides:

Guide pratique pour la mise en oeuvre d’une gestion participative et durable des espaces boisés dans les pays du Maghreb(Arabic version)

Guide pratique pour la mise en oeuvre d’une gestion participative et durable à travers des contrats gagnant-gagnant dans la forêt de la Maâmora

Component 3 – Countries’ thematic experts