Presentation of the Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves Network

On 19 June, the UNESCO Centre on Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves, coordinated by UAB Professor Martí Boada, presented the new Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves Network with a debate on the "Two Coastlines of the Mediterranean" and a work session on the network's coordination.

18/06/2015

The Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves Network is formed by a selection of 60 Biosphere Reserves from 14 countries and is based on biogeographical and climatic criteria. Attending the presentation, which took place at 10 am at the Castellet Castle in the town of Castellet i la Gornal, were Federico Ramos de Armas, Secretary of State for Environment; Han Qunli, Secretary of UNESCO's MaB Programme; and Josep Maria Coronas, Secretary General of Abertis. The presentation also include a debate on the "Two Coastlines of the Mediterranean" and a work session on the network's coordination.

The UNESCO Centre on Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves, coordinated by UAB Professor Martí Boada and promoted by the Abertis Foundation and the Ministry for Agriculture, Food and the Environment and its Autonomous Organisation of National Parks (OAPN), in collaboration with the UAB's Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, is the first of its kind and combines public support with private funding, under UNESCO auspices. It is also the first category 2 centre to be associated with the Man and Biosphere (MaB) Programme. Created in November 2013 and officially inaugurated in April 2014, the centre can be found at the headquarters of the Abertis Foundation in the town of Castellet i la Gornal, near Barcelona.

The centre is destined to become a model of cooperation between the two shores of the Mediterranean and will provide a platform for the exchange of information on issues related to biosphere reserves and the sustainable development of the Mediterranean.