Monaco participates in the 36th session of the UNESCO’s International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB-ICC) in Morocco

Monaco participe à la 36ème session du Conseil international de coordination du Programme sur l'Homme et la Biosphère (CIC-MAB) de l'UNESCO au Maroc 1 © ANDZOA

Mrs Agatha Korczak, First Secretary of the Principality of Monaco's Permanent Delegation to UNESCO, attended the 36th session of UNESCO's International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB-ICC), held in Agadir, Morocco, from 1 to 5 July 2024.

The session was opened by the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, and brought together more than 270 delegates representing 72 countries, to work on the coordination of biosphere reserves.

The discussions focused on action plans, particularly those linked to other UN biodiversity objectives, management, networks, involving youth, and advancing scientific knowledge in these areas.

This session also saw UNESCO approve the designation of 11 new biosphere reserves in 11 countries, including the first-time designations of Belgium and Gambia, as well as two transboundary biosphere reserves. With these new reserves, which span a total area of 37,400 km2 - the equivalent of the size of the Netherlands - the World Network of Biosphere Reserves now comprises 759 sites in 136 countries and regions, covering around 5% of the Earth's surface.

Monaco participe à la 36ème session du Conseil international de coordination du Programme sur l'Homme et la Biosphère (CIC-MAB) de l'UNESCO au Maroc 2 © ANDZOA

Monaco has been supporting the MAB scholarship programme for young researchers, focusing specifically on research into marine, coastal and island areas, since 2022, the year of the commemorations of the centenary of Prince Albert I's death. This approach is in line with the Principality's commitment to the Ocean Decade - The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

This 36th session saw 7 of the 15 winners receive support from the Prince's Government, during which time the Council chose to name the award the ‘MAB Young Scientist Awards - Prince Albert I of Monaco’, in recognition of the Principality's and its Princes' commitment to scientific development and in honour of Prince Albert I's legacy of support for oceanography and science.

The next MAB session will be held in September 2025 at the 5th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves in Hangzhou, China.
Launched by UNESCO in 1971, MAB is an intergovernmental scientific programme that aims to establish a scientific basis for enhancing the relationship between people and their environments. This programme combines the natural and social sciences with a view to improving human livelihoods and safeguarding natural and managed ecosystems.
The World Network of Biosphere Reserves, based on the MAB programme, is the largest and oldest collection of nature reserves within UNESCO's system.