UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory
UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory
Leadership Course
RIYADH – Under its recently announced ‘Experts Program’, the Saudi Ministry of Culture has provided an intensive leadership training course for “Man and The Biosphere” (MAB), a UNESCO programme. MAB is an intergovernmental scientific program that seeks to enhance the relationship between people and their environments through natural and social sciences.
Delivered in partnership with the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science in the Arab States, the course brought together 17 local and international participants. Dr. Nuria Sanz - Head of UNESCO Regional Bureau for Sciences in the Arab States in Cairo, tapped on the importance of the Leadership Course designed for multidisciplinary group of specialist and practitioners and insisted to consider this pioneering UNESCO Cairo initiative in Saudi Arabia as a landmark of the successful partnership with the Saudi Ministry of Culture. Dr. Sanz added that the course shall foster the readiness of Saudi Arabia and also other Member states for the designation of new UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Arab region.
The programme was led by Dr. Elsa Sattout - Regional Programme Specialist of the Ecology and Earth Sciences at UNESCO in Cairo, who introduced to the participants the basic concepts and history of the MAB programme. The course also saw the contribution of a multidisciplinary group of sector experts including Mr. Philippe Pypaert- Programme Specialist, EES Programme at UNESCO HQ Paris, Dr. Mohamed Sameh - Expert Natural Heritage Conservation & Management from Egypt, Dr. Mohamed Talaat - Expert Natural Heritage Conservation & Management from Egypt, Ms. Nabiha Ben Mbarek - ArabMAB Steering Committeee member and Ichkeul Biosphere Reserve inTunisia, Ms. Tania Ballane - Ecotourism Manager at Jabal Moussa Biosphere Reserve in Lebanon and Ms. Natalia Boulad- Protected Areas & Biodiversity Programme Manager at IUCN Regional Office for West Asia in Amman, Jordan
During the course, participants explored and deliberated over several topics, including the history of the MAB Programme, ecosystem restoration, natural resource management and community empowerment. Leadership in sustainable development was also addressed through real world case studies concerning the role of local communities, hospitality and entrepreneurship sectors, and the work of the ArabMAB Network.
Considered the first of its kind in the region, the course is one of several specialized training programs offered by the Saudi Ministry of Culture. This latest development comes as the Kingdom seeks to increase the number of Saudi experts in the field of cultural and natural heritage by providing specialist training with the aim of preserving cultural assets for generations to come. It is expected that the program will train 30 Saudi experts for UNESCO initiatives and empower a new cohort of specialists in Saudi Arabia and beyond.
