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The 12th Meeting of the REDBIOS Network will take place from 22 to 26 September 2014 in the Azores, under the auspices of UNESCO and the Government of the Azores. The REDBIOS Network comprises the Canary Islands (Spain), Cape Verde, Mauritania, Madeira and Azores (Portugal), Morocco, Senegal, Guinea Bissau and São Tomé & Príncipe. The network fulfils an interregional mandate to promote cooperation and the exchange of experiences among countries from the Macaronesian Region and West Africa.

Knowledge transfer, exchange of experiences and new opportunities for cooperation between REDBIOS biosphere reserves will form the core of the agenda. Special attention will also be paid by Macaronesian biosphere reserves to the potential contribution of European cooperation programmes such as the Transnational Cooperation Programme Madeira-Acores-Canary Islands (PCT-MAC) in support of the REDBIOS network and its specific projects.

The meeting will examine new and planned applications for biosphere reserves, particularly from Cape Verde and the Azores.

Representatives from the Global Network of Island and Coastal Zone Biosphere Reserves will also participate at the meeting to discuss future relations with other regional and thematic biosphere reserves networks.

As a complement to the regular meeting, REDBIOS will organize two public sessions devoted to the promotion of biosphere reserves and their contribution to sustainable development at local level, as well as their relevance for the promotion of responsible tourism.

Interactions and formal visits with representatives of the Government and Parliament of the Azores also form part of the programme, which also includes a field visit to sites of interest and potential new biosphere reserves in the Azores.