Tourism and forests around the Mediterranean. Comparing approaches, comparing fates

Forests today, an immense worldwide reserve of biodiversity, offer perspectives for territorial development based on the multifunctional scope of the areas they cover and the profitable use of amenities that are without commercial value (landscape, biodiversity, clean air…). Besides non-woody forest products (NWFP), it is tourism that has become the buzz word, demanding the creation of attractive locally-based new products in response to the increasing demand for contact with a more or less unspoilt natural environment. But how can an activity as polluting as tourism be combined with the preservation of the forests and woodlands around the Mediterranean Rim? Should tourism be a focus as the main vector of economic development or as a tool for the promotion of forests? What is the relationship between tourism in forests and the natural resource? Do forests represent inputs for the products for tourism or is their preservation in fact the ultimate goal? This article seeks to suggest a number of lines of response by a comparative consideration of the main international and regional views on forest development, tourism and the Mediterranean