Mediterranean Forests: Ecological Space and Economic and Community Wealth

Abstract

"Although vast expanses of dense forest may not be a typical Mediterranean image, forests play a major ecological role in the region and have always been a fundamental factor in the life of its inhabitants. The close relationship that has developed over time between humans and the forest has sometimes been stable, but more often it has been out of balance and detrimental to forests that are notable for their fragility.

Mediterranean forests account for a mere 1.5 percent of the total wooded surface of the planet. Unsustainable exploitation of their resources over the centuries has resulted in degradation, occurring at varying rates, depending on the vicissitudes of history and the successive civilizations that the Mediterranean basin has seen. In North Africa and the Near East, population growth has led to over exploitation and accelerated degradation of forest resources. In the north of the Mediterranean, fires, land speculation and a growing number of leisure activities, which are also hard to control, are having serious repercussions on the resource. In both cases, the environmental effects are today a matter of concern for both government and the general public.

Although the development problems affecting forest zones take many forms - economic, social and political - it is important to keep in mind the considerable physical and biological potential of the Mediterranean environment. Covering a significant geographical area (81 million ha), Mediterranean forest ecosystems exhibit general features related to their ecology and history as well marked regional differences that result from diverse physical and human contexts. They have a major common factor, however, in their fragility, instability and frequent degradation.

The present article is an introduction to this issue on Mediterranean forests. Following a description of the Mediterranean region is a short, historical section on forests and their use through the ages. Specific climatic and ecological features are examined next in order to gain a better understanding of the structure and organization of forest ecosystems. To conclude, the future of Mediterranean forests is analysed in terms of the problems and issues that have led to the establishment of the Mediterranean Forest Action Programme (MED-FAP)."