AVIGNON, France, April 7 (UPI) -- A partnership with Mediterranean states will raise forest awareness initiatives to preserve the resource, a U.N. forestry official said from France.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization welcomed delegates to France for a seminar on forest preservation in the Mediterranean region.
Eduardo Rojas-Briales, assistant director general of the FAO's forestry department, said the partnership would bring forest wealth to the forefront of the regional conversation.
"These include soil and water protection, landscape values, carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation," he said in a statement. "It is urgent that we join efforts to restore and preserve their functions for future generations."
Mediterranean forests are vulnerable to drought and heat waves. This translates to pressure on water supply, tourism and the health of the regional economy.
The partnership is intended to encourage integration in forest management policies, with a particular emphasis on wildfire prevention.
The Mediterranean loses as much as 1 million hectares of forests, with a value of $1.43 billion, each year to fires.
Forests make up about 8.5 percent of the region's total land area, the FAO said.
