Make a real difference for nature and the climate

The Mediterranean Green Belt represents the largest restoration of forests along the Mediterranean and a major green infrastructure in southern Europe. We have already planted over 47 million trees and restored 75,000 hectares of forest, equivalent to 105,000 football fields, with the United Nations.
Degraded and burned forests often need human help to recover. Each tree keeps alive a global ecosystem with its vegetation and biodiversity.
Restored forests perform their ecological functions better, absorb more CO2 and are more resilient to the impact of climate change.
Restoring and protecting a forest in one part of the Mediterranean benefits the whole Mediterranean and the climate.

Restoring Mediterranean forests is urgent

The Mediterranean is one of the regions of the world where forests are suffering the most from climate change. Temperatures in the Mediterranean have risen by 1.3°C, which is 2ºC more than the global average and 20% faster.  It is also the hottest region in Europe, where forests most need to be protected. 75% of forest fires in Europe take place in the Mediterranean. Fires are more violent and more frequent, burning thousands of hectares every year, killing millions of trees and destroying animal life. Desertification and soil erosion affect entire regions of the Mediterranean, accelerating forest degradation. One in five animal species in the Mediterranean is threatened with extinction due to forest loss. Without its forests, which are essential to the regulation of the local climate and animal life, the much-loved landscapes of the Mediterranean will disappear forever and Mediterranean agriculture, which gives its products to the world, will be more exposed to droughts and diseases.

More than planting…

Planting and protecting trees means that we perform one or more tasks, depending on the needs of each forest:

• We prioritize natural regeneration by helping young trees born alone and still fragile to grow.
• We plant trees when natural regeneration is insufficient or non-existent.
• We open areas and paths without vegetation to prevent and fight fires.
• We build barriers to fight erosion and prevent landslides.
• We promote the well-being of biodiversity, in particular by building shelters and water points for animals and taking other actions essential to their habitat.
• We protect all trees, news and old, by promoting sustainable management of the entire forest ecosystem.