91�鶹������Ʒ����

Supported by the UNESCO Earth Network project and moderated by Hélène Le Brun from UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, the series provided a unique platform to connect international biodiversity commitments with grassroots conservation efforts in UNESCO-designated sites.

Building on the momentum of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the insights from the Nordic Council of Ministers’ publication, “”, the webinars delved into practical strategies to translate global goals into actionable local initiatives.

These series highlighted UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, with a particular emphasis on successful case studies from Latin America and the Caribbean. These examples illustrated how conservation, sustainable development, and community participation can be harmoniously integrated to meet .

This webinar series has created a platform of dialogue between a diverse coalition of stakeholders, including policymakers, biodiversity experts, local community leaders, and representatives from UNESCO-designated sites. Together, they shared knowledge, challenges, and innovative practices to create meaningful connections between global frameworks and local realities.

The first webinar focused on efforts beyond the headline goal of protecting 30% of the planet by 2030 (Target 3). António Abreu, Secretary of UNESCO’s MAB Programme, opened the session by emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the remaining 70% of the world’s land and water resources.

Mads Randboll Wolff from the Nordic Council of Ministers shared findings from their report “Local Actions for the New Global Biodiversity Framework”, emphasizing lessons from Nordic biosphere reserves. These insights were echoed by Alicia Barraclough, researcher at the UNESCO Chair “Sustainable heritage and environmental management” of the University of Bergen, Norway. She presented the , an initiative developing indicators to monitor “biosphere reserves as platforms that enhance community participation, that have a holistic approach to conservation, that look also at livelihoods and social and cultural development”.

Danilo Salas, Director of Paraguay's Mbaracayú Forest Reserve, introduced the participatory mapping work being done with the indigenous communities that live in the reserve. At the core of this methodology lies the importance of land tenure, access to natural resources, and intergenerational and gender-responsive dialogue to uphold Indigenous rights.

David P. Doyle, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of St. Kitts and Nevis to UNESCO, highlighted the Earth Network mission to St Mary’s Biosphere Reserve. He noted how the mission, led by biodiversity and ecologist expert, Dr. Haydi J. Berrenstein, “became the galvanising factor at the St. Mary’s reserve in tackling issues related to biodiversity decline, ocean and land and tropical forest degradation linked to climate change”. Telca Wallace, MAB focal point for St. Kitts and Nevis, also emphasized the importance of the follow up support provided by the Earth Network project to ensure long-term impact of the agroforestry plans developed in the Reserve, which “continues to grapple with the challenging effects of limited financial resources in the face of the extreme climate hazard”.

The second webinar centered on science as a cornerstone for evidence-based decision-making. Hans Thusltrup from UNESCO’s MAB Secretariat highlighted the critical role of science research, echoed by Malene Nielsen Mansour of Denmark’s Permanent Delegation to UNESCO, who called for a unified approach to address the biodiversity and climate crises. Mansour stressed the need for a holistic approach, stating how “there is a tendency to put those two urgent matters in siloes and we can also see that experts are now telling us that these issues should be tackled together”. 

Jorge Herrera presented the MangRes project, a Latin America and Caribbean community-driven initiative that integrates traditional ecological knowledge with scientific monitoring to restore mangroves. 

Patricia Herrera from Chile’s Kütralkura UNESCO Global Geopark demonstrated how Geoparks can integrate climate science into territorial planning through an intergenerational, gender responsive approach, “with the engagement of communities, and the idea is to reduce the impacts of climate change and disaster risk together with the students and with school visits, together also with indigenous women”.

The final webinar showcased community-driven approaches and sustainable economic development. Claudia Valeria Sanchez Flores, from the Indigenous Women's Network on Biodiversity of Latin America and the Caribbean (RMIB-LAC), presented traditional ecological calendars as tools for adaptive resource management, highlighting their value in co-producing knowledge with the people. In Sanchez’s words, “this ecological calendar allows us to calculate different time scales and it contributes to resilience and adaptive management of natural resources and the landscape. It's a tool that can also be very useful when co-producing knowledge because it considers time not as a linear thing but as cyclical.”

Eduardo Martinez, a representative of the Trifinio Fraternidad Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, shared a trinational success story of “three countries coming together and making decisions to achieve a greater socio-economic dynamism that achieves ecological sustainability for the territory” involving El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The countries collaborated on shared governance and regional projects, including irrigation systems and a trinational tourism fair, to promote ecological sustainability.

Jairo Wood from the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve in Honduras, discussed a UNESCO-supported nature-based solutions project involving Indigenous groups. This initiative integrates spiritual beliefs, traditional ecological knowledge, and academic research from the National Autonomous University of Honduras to enhance resilient agriculture and disaster warning systems.

This webinar series underscored the transformative potential of UNESCO-designated sites as models for achieving GBF goals. By blending traditional knowledge, scientific research, and community engagement, these sites exemplify how localized action can address global biodiversity and climate challenges.

As the world looks toward COP 17, UNESCO reaffirms its commitment to empowering communities, fostering innovation, and supporting inclusive conservation efforts. These initiatives are critical steps toward building a sustainable future for both people and nature.