The evidence of the environmental benefits of different cultural practices from the Mediterranean region was analysed at the last workshop of the Alliance for Mediterranean Nature and Culture held in the city of Mersin (Turkey). This workshop was organised by IUCN-Med and Yolda Initiative. By performing a joint assessment of these traditional practices, AMNC seeks to establish a common framework for measuring the benefits of so-called “cultural landscapes”. As the coordinator of the knowledge Overarching Initiative, IUCN-Med is leading the process of assessing these practices applying common criteria.

“Building sound knowledge to assess and draw the line that connects these practices can be key to their potential recognition as Nature-based Solutions” explains Mercedes Muñoz Cañas, Nature Conservation and Food Systems Manager at IUCN-Med.

Nature-positive practices in decline

In several areas of the Mediterranean, the abandonment of certain cultural land-use practices has been identified as a major cause of declining levels of biodiversity, as well as the loss of essential environmental services. The AMNC has embarked on a mission to improve knowledge and awareness of cultural landscapes, which are often linked to cultural, aesthetic or spiritual values. Due to lasting human influence, these biodiverse landscapes have evolved in tandem with Mediterranean societies and are now dependent on their influence to survive. 

“Acknowledging the key role of cultural practices in maintaining and enhancing biodiversity and in tackling the climate crisis, we, as a leading nature conservation Alliance in the Mediterranean, are dedicated to ensuring better assessment of these links at regional level, based on sound scientific data and demonstrated via common frameworks” sais Engin Yılmaz, director of the Yolda Initiative and the coordinator of the AMNC.

In this way, mobile pastoralism functions as a practice which supports the biodiversity of the landscapes it has maintained and serves as a climate crisis adaptation and mitigation tool. A field visit to the Sarikeçili community provided a demonstration of how nomadic pastoralism creates natural firebreaks against the spread of wildfires. 

“Sarikeçili nomadic pastoralists are guardians of an ancestral production system, which contributes to fire hazard reduction, as was the case during the wildfires in the Mersin provinceTurkey in 2021. The migration routes created by mobile pastoralists and their grazing ranges have proven to be highly beneficial in the formation and maintenance of natural firebreaks that prevent the spread, intensity and severity of fires. As we face the current climate crisis, ensuring access of these communities to forests and pastures is of key importance. This system has maintained grazing in natural areas where goats consume dry vegetation and leaf cover in the understory, which are the main biofuel for wildfires.” – Paraphrased quote from Yolda Initiative’s statement on wildfires.

https://www.mednatureculture.org/

AMNC is a partnership created under the auspices of the MAVA Foundation (M6 - Cultural Landscapes) and is supported by the Al-Shouf Cedar Society, Associaçao Natureza Portugal association with WWF, EuroNatur, Global Diversity Foundation, GOB Menorca, IUCN-Med, Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos (MedINA), Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL), Tour du Valat, Trashumancia y Naturaleza, WWF North Africa, WWF Spain and Yolda Initiative.

Images : © Inanc Tekguc