Morocco is taking part in the 38th session of UNESCO’s International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (ICC-MAB), which opened in Hernandarias, Paraguay, in the presence of Paraguayan President Santiago Peña and senior national and international officials committed to sustainable development, science, and biodiversity conservation.
The Moroccan delegation is led by Samir Addahre, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Kingdom of Morocco to UNESCO. The session comes at a pivotal moment for the MAB Programme, one year after the adoption of the Hangzhou Strategic Action Plan 2026–2035, the new roadmap for the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
Developed through an extensive consultation process involving more than 60 percent of UNESCO Member States, the strategic framework aims to strengthen the contribution of biosphere reserves to the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The opening ceremony featured addresses by President Santiago Peña, Paraguayan ministers responsible for foreign affairs, environment, and education, as well as Latifa Yaakoubi, President of the ICC-MAB. Speakers highlighted the importance of biosphere reserves as key instruments for promoting sustainable development and environmental stewardship.
In her remarks, Yaakoubi emphasized the vital role of biosphere reserves as “living laboratories for sustainable development,” serving as spaces for innovation, scientific research, dialogue, and cooperation between communities and their natural environments.
The session also reviewed the major outcomes of the 37th ICC-MAB session and the 5th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves held in Hangzhou in 2025, which resulted in the adoption of the Hangzhou Strategic Action Plan 2026–2035 and the Hangzhou Declaration. The declaration reaffirmed the need to build a renewed relationship between humanity and nature based on inclusion, participation, and shared responsibility.
Discussions during the session focus on strengthening the governance of biosphere reserves, engaging youth, advancing scientific research, promoting nature-based solutions, and integrating technological innovation into sustainable territorial management.
With 784 biosphere reserves across 142 countries, the World Network of Biosphere Reserves remains one of the world’s largest international networks dedicated to balancing biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and human well-being.
Morocco’s participation reflects the Kingdom’s longstanding commitment to the objectives of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme. This commitment was highlighted in 2024 when Agadir hosted the 36th ICC-MAB session, during which Latifa Yaakoubi, President of Morocco’s National MAB Committee and Director General of ANDZOA, was elected President of the ICC-MAB for a two-year term.
Her election underscored the international community’s confidence in Morocco’s expertise in biodiversity conservation, sustainable territorial management, and the promotion of sustainable development within biosphere reserves.
