310
THE CONSEQUENCES OF
TODAY’S ACTIONS ON
TOMORROW’S WORLD
MAN AND THE BIOSPHERE PROGRAMME
D
uring the second half of
the 20th century, there was
an increasing global
awareness of the importance of the
relationship between humans and
the natural world. This led, in
1971, to the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) launching
the Man and the Biosphere
Program (MAB). This is an
intergovernmental program devoted
to encouraging environmentally
sustainable and equitable economic
development, while protecting
natural ecosystems.UNESCO was founded after World
War II with the aim of fostering
“the building of peace, the
eradication of poverty, sustainable
development and intercultural
dialogue through education, the
sciences, culture, communication
and information.” As such, it was
in a unique position to examine
carefully the relationship between
people and the environment.Global network
The organization began by setting
up a number of internationally
recognized protected sites, knownIN CONTEXT
KEY ORGANIZATION
UNESCOBEFORE
1925 The International
Institute of Intellectual
Cooperation—which aims to
exchange intellectual ideas
and improve quality of life—is
set up in Paris, France.1945 The United Nations
Conference establishes the
constitution of UNESCO.AFTER
1983 First International
Biosphere Reserve Congress
takes place in Minsk, Belarus.1995 Statutory framework
of the World Network of
Biosphere Reserves is agreed.2015 The UN launches its
17 Sustainable Goals initiative.2017 The US withdraws
17 sites from the UNESCO
World Network of Biosphere
Reserves, but 23 new sites
are added elsewhere.The MAB program
predicts the
consequences of
today’s actions on
tomorrow’s world.Such actions have
consequences.Data gathered from global
MAB reserves helps
generate a picture of what
these consequences could be.Humankind is altering the
environment with processes
such as deforestation and
urban sprawl.US_310-311_UNESCO_man_and_biosphere_program.indd 310 12/11/18 6:26 PM