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Agadir – Morocco is participating in the 38th session of the International Coordinating Council (ICC) of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB), opened on Tuesday in Hernandarias, Paraguay.
The event brings together senior officials and experts in biodiversity, sustainable development, and environmental governance.
According to a statement received by Morocco World News (MWN), the Moroccan delegation is taking part in the session under the leadership of Samir Addahre, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Morocco to UNESCO.
Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña Palacios inaugurated the session alongside government ministers and international representatives involved in environmental and scientific cooperation.
The opening ceremony featured high-level interventions from officials including Paraguay’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development Rolando de Barros Barreto, and UNESCO representatives.
According to the same statement, the 38th ICC-MAB session comes at a key moment for the program, taking place one year after the adoption of the Hangzhou Strategic Action Plan 2026-2035, which sets out a renewed global roadmap for the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
The plan seeks to strengthen the role of biosphere reserves in implementing major international frameworks, including the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
During the opening, the Chair of the ICC-MAB, Latifa Yaakoubi, emphasized the importance of biosphere reserves as “living laboratories” for sustainable development, highlighting their role in fostering innovation, research, and cooperation between communities and ecosystems.
Morocco’s participation in this session reflects its continued engagement within the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program. The statement recalled that this commitment was further highlighted during the 36th ICC-MAB session hosted in Agadir in 2024, which marked a milestone for Morocco’s role in the program.
Agadir’s session also saw the election of Yaakoubi to the presidency of the ICC-MAB, a development described as a recognition of Moroccan expertise in biodiversity conservation, sustainable territorial management, and biosphere reserve governance.
The 38th session is expected to continue discussions on strengthening governance mechanisms, promoting scientific research, engaging youth, and integrating technological innovation into the management of biosphere reserves worldwide.
