DATE / TIME:

2013•01•24    12:00 - 13:00

Location:

Yokohama

This seminar will aim to explain how ideas about conservation, sustainable development and learning in the UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) programme have evolved by critically examining the history of biosphere reserves from the 1970s to the present day. Dr. Maureen Reed (Professor, University of Saskatchewan School of Environment and Sustainabilit) will present information from early and present-day international plans established by UNESCO and the MAB programme, and then discuss how these were interpreted “on the ground” in Canada.

Specifically, the presentation addresses three questions:

• What were the international priorities for conservation and learning and how have they changed over time?
• How did these international priorities become translated into criteria for the designation of biosphere reserves internationally?
• How did these priorities become expressed “on the ground” in the designation processes and research practices of Canadian biosphere reserves?

As she examines these changes, Dr. Reed will consider the implications for how we assess the activities of biosphere reserves in the present.

For more information, or to register to attend, see the event announcement on the UNU-IAS website.