TITLE: valley in mainly soil stabilisation, and biodiversity preservation (i.e. the largest Portuguese population of Chamaelo chamaelon are found in LOCATION/Geography: the Monte Gordo nature reserve, closed to the western margin of the Guadiana mouth).

PROBLEM/THREAT: Major land use change has shaped Mediterranean forest cover in the last 50 years. Large scale afforestation for timber and pulpwood have been responsible for transforming areas of natural and semi-natural woodlands. At the same time incentives put in place by the EU Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) to convert marginal agricultural lands into woodlands, have not actually encouraged appropriate forest The Guadiana is a national park located in restoration. While the EU has poured up to Euro southern Portugal 1.27 billion between 1993 and 1997 into afforestation, important natural habitats of forests, CONSERVATION IMPORTANCE scrubs and grasslands are still being destroyed. The Guadiana basin and Southern Portugal, The southern half of the harbours extensive semi-natural sylvopastoral includes the most fragile areas classified as woodlands -known as “montados” in Portugal and undergoing a desertification process, with high “Dehesas” in -, which have historically erosion risk, and a direct cost on the environment, represented very efficient and rational which in Spain is estimated of about 280 million multipurpose management systems, adapted to Euro per year. This is a typical example of an adverse environmental conditions imposed by low environmental degradation process leading to, or quality soils and harsh climate. exasperating serious social problems, such as The Guadiana basin boasts more than 220 poverty and widespread emigration, affecting the breeding vertebrates. The woodlands constitute livelihood of several million people in rural and important wintering enclaves for thousands of urban areas of many Mediterranean countries. cranes (Grus grus), and breeding areas for WWF's Action hundreds of white storks (Ciconia ciconia) and the Based on an initial review of policies and actors endangered black stork (Ciconia nigra). The related to restoration, WWF has identified the south-western Iberian genuine sylvopastoral need to work at various levels in the landscapes are also fundamental for the Mediterranean basin. One set of interventions will focus on lobbying for a change in legislation at the EU level. This will target more specifically the afforestation measures promoted through the CAP. At the same time in both Morocco and Portugal, WWF will work with local communities to identify and value forest goods and services.

Specific activities will include: 1. Identifying and preparing case studies on good restoration practices, showing their social, economic, and environmental benefits. 2. Supporting field restoration work in pilot sites © WWF-Canon / Fritz VOLLMAR within the Southern Portugal Green Belt, and develop and test the methodology preservation of some of the most endangered 3. Preparing training tool kits on restoration and species in Europe, the Iberian lynx (Lynx awareness material, and organise a training pardinus), the Imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca), and course for WWF Mediterranean NOs and the great bustard (Otis tarda). selected partners The coastal stone pine woodlands (Pinus pinea), 4. Supporting lobby actions to the EU and the associated to the sand dunes, are very valuable Portuguese and Spanish national/regional ecosystems from both socio-economic - the governments to introduce adequate sustainable management of pine nut collection is restoration guidelines. an important income-generating activity for rural economies - and conservation point of view,

SIM/FORESTS FOR LIFE/WWF INTERNATIONAL - 1 - 24/01/03