Cyprus Community Initiative for Forests (CyCIFor)

As People and Nature form the basis for establishing this association, it is important to demonstrate its relevance to the community by presenting our purpose and documenting our methods.

Three international environmental conventions have served as models for our tools and methods:

• The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification,
• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
• The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

Of the European countries which the above bodies concern, Cyprus is probably the most vulnerable. Thus our inspiration comes from local institutions like the Forest Department of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Cyprus, but also international organizations like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Environment Program, the United Nations Forum on Forests and the Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

We are also seeking guidance from  local and foreign organizations,on a non-profit ​basis, which will strengthen our efforts and capabilities.

In addition to the protection of Nature and landscapes, we are pursuing  social and health goals which have the potential to affect positive economic impacts for the society, starting with and from local communities.
Our main ‘technical’ objective is to further the cause of Land Degradation Neutrality.

Toward that end, the tools and projects we intend to employ will be community-based and with special a focus on urban and peri-urban environments, while not forgetting other areas that fall within the scope of our mission such as existing forests, agricultural lands, etc.

Within the context of Cyprus, our fieldwork will consist mainly of:

• Organizing volunteers for a program of State-level reforestation,
• Creation and maintenance of urban wooded environments with direct involvement from neighbors and local authorities (municipalities, the Forest Department, etc.),
• Engaging business leaders in the creation of corporate gardens and woods.