Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve Association

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Canadian Biosphere Reserve Association | UNESCO's MAB Programme | MAB International Co-ordinating Council

Additional Information on Biosphere Reserves

The Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association (CBRA)

The Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association (CBRA) is a non-profit association, incorporated in 1997, to provide support and networking relationships that help develop and maintain biosphere reserves throughout Canada. Through CBRA, people in biosphere reserves can maintain communications among themselves and with other related organizations, collaborate on shared projects, and exchange local expertise among biosphere reserves in Canada and elsewhere.

The CBRA was forged out of the desire to blend the benefits of national coordination with the energy and dedication of individual biosphere reserves and their communities. This member-driven, non-profit organization is supported by a volunteer team who are involved in securing funding, preparing information for and about the Association, and overseeing day-to-day matters.

For more information please see http://www.biosphere-canada.ca/about.htm

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Program on Man and the Biosphere (MAB)

UNESCO’s Programme on Man and the Biosphere (MAB) develops the basis, 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.

The MAB Programme encourages interdisciplinary research, demonstration and training in natural resource management. MAB contributes thus not only to better understanding of the environment, including global change, but to greater involvement of science and scientists in policy development concerning the wise use of biological diversity.

Over the next decades, MAB is focusing on new approaches for facilitating sustainable development, through promoting conservation and wise use of biodiversity. By taking advantage of the transdisciplinary and cross-cultural opportunities of UNESCO’s mandate in the fields of education, science, culture and communication, MAB is promoting both scientific research and information gathering, as well as linking with traditional knowledge about resource use. It must serve to help implement Agenda 21 and related Conventions, in particular the Convention on Biological Diversity.

For more information please see http://www.unesco.org/mab/index.htm

Man and the Biosphere (MAB) International Co-ordinating Council

The role of the Council is:

to be responsible for guiding and supervising the MAB Programme;
to review the progress made in the implementation of the Programme (cf. Secretariat report and reports of MAB National Committees);
to recommend research projects to countries and to make proposals on the organization of regional or international cooperation;
to assess priorities among projects and MAB activities in general;
to co-ordinate the international cooperation of Member States participating in the MAB Programme;
to co-ordinate activities with other international scientific programmes;
to consult with international non-governmental organizations on scientific or technical questions

For more information please see http://www.unesco.org/mab/index.htm