Some traditional practices such as transhumance, terrace agriculture, and salt production contribute to diverse landscapes deserving of conservation. Such practices occur mainly in farming, livestock breeding, forestry and fishing, and involve know-how and techniques that have become integral to rural landscapes.
Promoting sustainable land-use practices
Mediterranean BasinSheep transhumance Spain (c) Jesus Garzon
Objectives
This action plan aims to support the conservation of Mediterranean cultural landscapes, their biodiversity and the ecosystem services they provide to Mediterranean people.
It supports sustainable management of lands and resources across 7 geographies representing landscapes of mountains and agro-silvo-pastoral areas in lowlands and islands, and works to amplify learning and share experiences regarding the links between cultural practices and biodiversity, and about how local traditions, governance systems and national and regional economic and development policies influence the landscapes’ management.
High Atlas (c) iStock-497686860
The objective is to stop the loss and deterioration of diverse ‘cultural landscapes’, revive locally-specific practices, and enhance their sustainability and benefit for the rural economy by:
- Promoting the improvement of enabling conditions such as favourable governance frameworks, supportive value chains and greater market access for products from cultural landscapes.
- Promoting greater public, decision-makers’ and consumer awareness on the value of sustainable production systems for biodiversity and ecosystem conservation.
- Advocating sustainable approaches, nationally and regionally, to the reactivation of the economy of Mediterranean countries following the Covid-19 crisis.
Geography
This action plan works in three landscape types: Mountain landscapes, Lowland agro-silvo-pastoral systems, and Island landscapes.
The mountain landscapes areas are:
- High Atlas Mountains of Morocco,
- Shouf Mountain of Lebanon (Shouf Biosphere Reserve, West Bekaa and Mount Lebanon),
- Taurus mountains in central Anatolia, Turkey, with gradient going down to the Mediterranean shores in Mersin Province (Sarıkeçili transhumance routes)
The lowland agro-silvo-pastoral systems areas are:
- Corridor stretching from Extremadura and Córdoba, Spain, to Coruche in Santarém, Portugal;
- Kroumirie Mogod, Northwestern Tunisia
The island landscapes areas are:
- Lemnos in the Aegean Sea, Greece,
- Menorca island, Balearic Islands, Spain
In addition, through an Overarching Initiative focusing on mobile pastoralism in the Mediterranean, sites from Greece (Pindos range) and the Balkans are included.
Budget 2017-2022
Partners
Learn more about the partnership
Focus on one of our partners
At the heart of all our work are passionate people dedicated to delivering effective and lasting conservation. These inspirational partners are our greatest asset.
© Nizar Hani ACS Lebanon
Nizar Hani
Shouf Biosphere ReserveWhen I applied for a job in the park twenty years ago, my parents didn’t approve: ‘Why be a guard in a forest?’ I saw it as an opportunity to learn new things but I didn’t know I’d fall in love with nature. I realised how important it was to protect it and now it’s a way of life.
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