4 June 2010: The 22nd session of the International Coordinating Council of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme, which convened from 31 May-4 June 2010, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, added 13 new sites and five extensions in 15 different countries to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The Network now numbers 564 sites in 109 countries. Ethiopia and Zimbabwe inscribed reserves to the network for the first time. Biosphere reserves are areas designated to serve as places to test different approaches to integrated management of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine resources and biodiversity. [UNESCO press release, 2 June 2010]