Join UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme and the Mountain Research Initiative as we come together online to launch the World Network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves.
UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme and the Mountain Research Initiative are pleased to invite you to participate in the launch of the World Network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves.
In an effort to improve the protection of mountainous ecosystems and the livelihoods of mountain communities, UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is relaunching its World Network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves. The World Network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves aims to involve all actors working in mountain biosphere reserves, including biosphere reserve managers/coordinators, mountain specialists, universities, research centres, local communities, UN agencies and programmes, associations, and NGO’s.
The Mountain Research Initiative is proud to be collaborating with UNESCO MAB in order to support the needs of this network in the short-medium to long-term.
The goal of the network is to:
- Increase the scientific knowledge of the managers/coordinators of mountain biosphere reserves, to improve the management of their sites.
- Facilitate exchange of scientific and local/indigenous knowledge between scientists and local communities in mountain biosphere reserves.
- Improve knowledge exchange among scientists and policymakers in order to make science-based decisions and facilitate adaptive governance relating to mountain biosphere reserves.
- Improve research FOR and WITH mountain biosphere reserves, rather than ON these biosphere reserves through, for example, agreements between the management committees of these biosphere reserves and research institutions/scientists in order to ensure that these recognize the biosphere reserves as a project partner and align their research plans in order to undertake research work in the biosphere reserve.
About this event
This two-hour webinar will take place in the lead up to International Mountain Day (IMD), which focuses this year on sustainable mountain tourism.
The aim of the seminar is to:
- Officially launch the World Network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves (WNMBR)
- Officially launch the new partnership between the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme and the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), in support of the WNMBR.
- Highlight the importance of creating partnerships between academia and biosphere reserves reserve management to create co-benefits: How can science inform and create capacities for the biosphere reserve management and how do the sites serve as platforms to undertake scientific research.
Event programme
1. Welcoming remarks
Speakers:
- MAB - Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO
- MRI - Prof. Jörg Balsiger, MRI Chair
2. Official launch of the World Network of Mountain Biosphere reserves.
Presentation on the MAB Programme, the World Network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves, and its objectives.
Speakers:
- Man and the Biosphere Programme Secretariat
- Valles de Omaña y Luna Biosphere Reserve (Spain)
- Research Center of Eco-Environmental Sciences (RCEES) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
3. Launch of the MAB and MRI partnership
The MRI will present the goals of this initiative and its global work, and how the mountain research community can engage in this MAB and MRI partnership effort.
Speaker: Dr Carolina Adler, MRI Executive Director
4. Sustainable mountain management and the challenges of tourism
Speaker: Dr Ros Bryce, Director of the Centre for Mountain Studies, University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI)
5. Connecting science and site management: the case of the Entlebuch Biosphere Reserve, Switzerland.
Speaker: Dr Florian Knaus, Entlebuch Biosphere Reserve - Dep. of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich.
6. Ecotourism and education: The “Climate change pathway” in the Huascarán Biosphere Reserve, Peru.
Speaker TBC.
7. Q&A.
8. Outlook & thanks
The event will take place on 9 December 2021 from 14:00 to 16:00 (CET) via Zoom.
Registration
To attend the event, please register before 7 December 2021.
The day before the webinar you will receive the link and login ID to join the session via Zoom. The event will be available in English, French, and Spanish.
Cover image by Anurag Kaushik.
