Mediterranean landscapes have long been shaped by traditional land management practices that created diverse, resilient cultural ecosystems, but rapid climate warming, declining rainfall, urbanisation, and land abandonment in recent decades are driving unprecedented changes. As these landscapes become increasingly vulnerable, communities must urgently adapt, ensuring that cultural practices and land use systems can withstand, recover from, and transform in response to growing climatic and socio political pressures.
This document describes 10 case studies from Mediterranean countries in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East that maintain or improve the resilience of agricultural, forestry and agroforestry systems to hazards such as fire, drought, floods, soil degradation or environmental degradation caused by previous land management. Many of these measures are not very complex, but require profound changes in land governance, and strong collaboration between land owners, local and regional authorities and agencies, research centres, NGOs, donors, and other entities involved in land management. Each case study is described in detail but concisely, including the local context, the challenge addressed, the technical, administrative and financial implementation, and how the instrument meets the four requisites for success: integration; continuity; specialisation; and collaboration.
This document is intended for land planners and land managers who are responsible for the sustainability of natural areas, including forested and agricultural spaces. The case studies were compiled by the European Forest Institute, Mediterranean (EFIMED), in collaboration with the Barcelona Provincial Council (DIBA).
Recommended citation:
Serrano Duque, C., Mauri, E. 2026. Actions for the resilience of Mediterranean landscapes: 10 case studies. European Forest Institute. https://doi.org/10.36333/rs16EN
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