Towards a shared management strategy

At the heart of the project lies the development of the Strategy for the Sustainable Management of Mediterranean Forests (SSMMF)—an operational framework tailored to different forest types and future climate scenarios. The strategy is the result of a participatory process involving experts from multiple countries and is built on an integrated approach:
• Advanced geospatial tools—including remote sensing, GIS and climate modelling—are used to identify priority areas for protection and restoration, supporting forest planning and risk management.
• Pilot-site testing in Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia allows the strategy to be validated on the ground and translated into concrete, actionable recommendations.
• Capitalisation of results ensures that knowledge, tools and best practices are shared and disseminated throughout the Mediterranean region.

Oikos’ contribution: turning knowledge into change

Istituto Oikos plays a key role in ensuring that the scientific value generated by the project becomes a driver of real transformation. Its main contributions include developing an online course on Mediterranean forest conservation and management, strengthening cross-border cooperation in the Prespa/Ohrid area (Greece, Albania, North Macedonia), and leading the development of the Medforval Strategy 2026–2035—a shared operational framework for 18 high ecological value forest landscapes that make up the Medforval network (link to website).

The project is funded by the Interreg Euro-MED Programme and coordinated by the European Topic Centre on Spatial Analysis and Synthesis (ETC-UMA) at the University of Málaga.
It involves 7 partners across 6 European and Mediterranean countries: Istituto Oikos, The European Topic Centre on Spatial Analysis and Synthesis (ETC-UMA), The International Association for Mediterranean Forests (AIFM), International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies of Chania (CIHEAM-MAICh), Centre National de la Propriété Forestière (CNPF), Public Institution Galičica National Park (PIGNP), Faculty of Forestry, University of Sarajevo (UNSA FoF).