1. Cedar holds an important position in Mediterranean forest management policy. Its many qualities make it a key species for the rehabilitation and development of unproductive or degraded forests in the region.

2. The programme of the research network "Silviculture of species: Cedrus Sp.", which was set up within the framework of Silva Mediterranea to promote research on this species, focuses on the following areas:

• selection and genetic improvement
• sylviculture and production
• ecophysiology and auto-ecology
• protection of cedar and cedar stands.

3. Actions in its programme of work, approved at the Committee’s sixteenth session from 13-17 June 1994 in Larnaca (Cyprus), include:

• continuation of the inventory of experiments in the region and establishment of a database;
• continuation of seed collection over a period of two to three years;
• establishment of provenance test plantations;
• publication of cedar monograph.

4. This report examines progress since the session in Larnaca and proposes a programme of work for the next years.

5. This work entails compiling an exhaustive inventory of cedar experiments. The aim is to standardize and consolidate information at a regional level, thus opening the way for reciprocal exchanges between network members.

6. No progress has been made since Larnaca. The preliminary results reported at the time remain unchanged as no further data has been received from the focal points.

7. The identification of seed-bearing stands has been completed in Algeria (17), France (3), Lebanon (13), Morocco (18) and Turkey (18). Two countries (France and Italy) are at the stage of establishing provenance test plantations.

8. Building on from previous years, seeds from six Moroccan provenances have been collected this year and distributed to a number of interested countries: Algeria, Greece, Italy and Portugal.

9. In view of the abundance and availability of information on cedar, the Committee suggested at its fifteenth session that a joint monograph be issued by INRA-France, FAO and IUFRO. The INRA has very recently abandoned the idea, so the seventeenth session of the Committee should look at other ways of successfully concluding this operation.

10. A draft outline of work was presented at the sixteenth session in Larnaca. The chapters are substantially ready (about 6 out of 8) so the material could be used for a first edition.

11. The proceedings of the international seminar on the Atlas cedar, held in Ifrane from 7 to 11 June 1993 were published in two volumes in a special issue of the Annals of Forest Research in Morocco in 1994.

12. The published documents include articles on the following subjects:

• ecophysiology and auto-ecology;
• sylviculture and management;
• genetic improvement and plantation;
• protection and utilization.

These have been widely acclaimed.

13. The bibliographical index on cedar published in 1994 has been extensively distributed. This database is compatible with the international database AGRIS and can be constantly updated and consulted.

14. This progress report underscores the need to complete certain unfinished activities. The future programme of work should therefore concentrate on:

1. 1. continuation of seed collection and distribution to all the network countries for provenance comparative trials;
   2. review of provenance test plantations in countries where such trials have taken place;
   3. compilation of a catalogue of provenance regions, which could be very useful to reforestation workers and scientists in the region;
   4. publication of the cedar monograph;
   5. reactivation of the inventory of ongoing cedar research in the region. To this end, the focal points are requested to distribute the corresponding model form to as many of their colleagues as possible.