New biosphere reserves to be announced

• © Paul Swee

The 21st session of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB-ICC) will be held from 25 to 29 May on the Island of Jeju, Republic of Korea. The MAB-ICC will review progress made since the Madrid Action Plan (MAP) for Biosphere Reserves was adopted at its 20th session in Madrid, Spain in February 2008 and decide on proposals for the future of the Programme. Among the decisions, new sites will be added to the UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR).

Thirty-six proposals from 25 countries* will be examined by the MAB-ICC. Selected sites will join the Network that currently comprises 531 sites in 105 countries.

Biosphere Reserves are areas designated by local and national authorities to serve as places to test different approaches to integrated management of land, water and biodiversity. As such, Biosphere Reserves are being promoted as working models for sustainable development, as a specific MAB contribution to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014).

The award ceremony for the winners of the US$6,000 2009 Michel Batisse Award for Biosphere Reserve Management - Boshra Salem (Egypt) and Gorshkov Yu (Russian Federation) – will also take place during the MAB Council meeting.

Launched in the early 1970s, the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) develops the basis and proposes an interdisciplinary research agenda, within the natural and the social sciences, for the sustainable use and conservation of biological diversity, and for the improvement of the relationship between people and their environment globally. It uses its World Network of Biosphere Reserves as a vehicle for knowledge-sharing, research and monitoring, education and training, and participatory decision-making.

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* Australia, Brazil, Chile, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Syria, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe