The Society for the Protection of Prespa joining into discussions on Fire-Smart Landscapes, along with Medforval Network partners

The Society for the Protection of Prespa joined in the final workshop of the project MediterRE3 “REstoring REsilience of Mediterranean landscapes to REduce GHG emissions from wildfires” and a meeting of the partners of the Medforval network from 02 – 05 October, held in Luberon, France.

The project meeting included a detailed presentation of the important biodiversity of the Luberon Regional Park, host to 30% of the country’s flora and the diversity of landscapes, as well as show-casing in the field the fire-management actions undertaken by the park administration in coopeation with other local authorities, research institutions and stakeholders. In parallel, the potential and effectiveness of Fire-Smart Landascape (FSL) in delaying and reducing the projected increase in burnt areas and consequently in GHG emissions from wildfires, especially in site such as Prokletije and Samaria, where effective fire management actions are not in place. The main take-home message of the FSL methodology, is its importance to influence policies and to attract funds for the restoration of our landscapes into more resilient systems.

On the final day of the visit, representatives partner sites of the Medforval Network (a Network of Mediterranean forest landscapes of high ecological value) had an interactive session and agreed on different topics on which to develop new projects, such as biodiversity conservation in old-growth forests and fire control through pastoralism among others. The members agreed that Medfoval and the secretariat are an excellent platform to share experiences internationally and to plan future projects and thus renewed their commitment in fostering engagement among all existing sites and in proactively reaching out to involve new sites across the Mediterranean region until next year’s annual meeting in Italy.