Plenary conference – april 4

The deterioration of our planet increases each year. Global warming and the erosion of biodiversity continue at an accelerating pace. Nobody knows what the state of life on this planet will be in fifty years’ time. The decisions made today will influence the habitability of Earth for thousands of years to come. The situation is urgent: time is against us. 
The law for restoring biodiversity includes the creation of a French Agency for Biodiversity (AFB), created on January 1st 2017. The Agency supports public policies for the conservation of biodiversity, and also aims to encourage awareness of biodiversity in all sectors and on all territories. In order to do so, it focuses in particular on missions promoting knowledge, citizen mobilization, management of protected areas, control of use, expertise, training…  The diverse experiences acquired through the MAB programme contribute to the work of the agency in all these missions.

The Biosphere Reserve designation is much more than a label and international recognition: it involves the commitment and responsibility of the numerous stakeholders who live and work there. The Biosphere Reserve designation reminds us that human beings are part of the living world and that it is our duty to pass this life and all its possibilities on to our children.
Today, more than ever, faced with uncertainty in a world undergoing profound change, it is essential to recall the founding principles and values of our shared humanity. It is urgent to join together by sharing and embodying values respecting life and all its diversity, all its opportunities. The MAB programme and its worldwide network of biosphere reserves is taking on this responsibility, by sharing its experiences, its resources, its skillset, its solutions for sustainable development to inspire the world and reconsider its links and co-dependency with the living world in a positive and sustainable way.

Biodiversity is the living material of the planet and the MAB programme is one of the vital human fabrics for facilitating links between human beings around the biosphere. For over 42 years, the ambitious and innovative MAB vision has spread throughout society, particularly through the generalization of the concept of sustainable development.
Today, sustainability should be a standard …. almost compulsory way of life. Each biosphere reserve contributes in its own way and in its specific context to taking up this challenge. The EuroMAB network and the World Network of Biosphere Reserves are places of exchange and sharing to inspire, transmit and spread solutions beyond our communities and to extend our zones of influence well beyond sites recognized as biosphere reserves. Faced with unprecedented threats to the conditions of life on Earth, it is urgent to take large-scale concrete action for the benefit of present and future generations and for our remarkable planet.