Participants at the Fourth Pacific Man and Biosphere (PacMAB) meeting agreed on commitments to intensify efforts and activities in Pacific small island developing States (SIDS).
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Office for the Pacific States convened the regional meeting to re-energize the PacMAB network and its activities.
1 May 2014: Participants at the Fourth Pacific Man and Biosphere (PacMAB) meeting agreed on commitments to intensify efforts and activities in Pacific small island developing States (SIDS). The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Office for the Pacific States convened the regional meeting to re-energize the PacMAB network and its activities.
In the meeting declaration, participants affirm the PacMAB network as a vehicle for “integrating biodiversity conservation management and sustainable development in the Pacific region.” They encourage an increased recognition and appreciation of “the unique cultural, social and environmental values and customs of the Pacific.”
Participants also commit to identifying pilot sites for new biosophere reserves as well as to renewing efforts to ensure that already proposed sites become biosphere reserves.
The declaration also calls for the active promotion of the biosphere reserve concept as a tool for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development at the Third International Conference on SIDS. It further addresses: establishment of MAB Focal Points; partnerships and inter-agency exchanges; and financing for biosphere reserve activities in the Pacific.
UNESCO organized the meeting with support from Jeju Province, South Korea. The meeting took place from 23-25 April in Nadi, Fiji. The meeting also discussed: progress and challenges related to the Madrid Action Plan (MAP); and the role of Pacific biosphere reserves in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and in the post-2015 development agenda.
The PacMAB network is composed of Australia, Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa and Tonga. The PacMAB, which was established in December 2006, works to identify national strategies for biodiversity protection in biosphere reserves and similarly managed areas, with an emphasis on coastal areas, mangroves and small islands. [UNESCO Press Release] [Meeting Declaration] [UNESCO Press Release in Advance of the Meeting] [Meeting Agenda]