Under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, and H.E. Dr. Leila Chikhaoui Mahdaoui, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Tunisia, and as part of its efforts to enhance capacities in the field of natural heritage protection and Geopark establishment, ALECSO held, on May 20, 2024, in collaboration with UNESCO, a workshop on “the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme: Nominating New Biosphere Reserves in the Maghreb Region”, with the participation of representatives from the Arab Maghreb countries.
The opening session began with a speech by Dr. Leila Chikhaoui Mahdaoui, Tunisian Environment Minister, delivered on her behalf by Dr. Hedi Chebili, Director-General at the Ministry, who welcomed all participants and commended the Ministry’s ongoing cooperation with ALECSO and UNESCO. He underlined the need to intensify efforts to protect and preserve the biosphere, through a participatory and fair approach that integrates biosphere reserves into the socio-economic development process, while involving local communities as stakeholders.
For his part, Dr. Mohamed Sanad Abu Darwish, Director of Science and Scientific Research, conveyed the greetings of Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, who was unable to attend due to prior commitments, and his wishes for the success of the workshop. He commended the ongoing cooperation with UNESCO in implementing activities in common areas of action. He underlined the importance of biosphere reserves in preserving biodiversity and protecting the environment and natural resources, and their role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr. Abu Darwish highlighted the contributions of the Department of Science and Scientific Research as part of partnership with UNESCO, noting that this workshop falls within the Department’s Capacity-building Program for Geological Heritage Conservation and Designation of Global Geoparks, and is also aligned with the Arab Strategy for Scientific Research, Technology and Innovation. This Strategy calls, inter alia, for drawing maximum benefit from the bilateral and multilateral agreements among countries and institutions in the field of environmental protection, climate change, and natural resource management.
The workshop was attended by representatives from Ministries and national institutions overseeing biosphere reserve projects in the Arab Maghreb countries (Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Mauritania). It was designed to introduce the MAB Programme, build adequate understanding of the development of the UNESCO biosphere reserves, share expertise, experience and lessons learned, highlight potential new networks in the Maghreb and Arab regions, identify the needs of aspiring UNESCO Geoparks, and develop an action plan for the preparation of nomination files.
