For the first time, Bulgaria participated as a full member in the International Coordinating Council of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme which was held in Agadir, Morocco, from 1 to 5 July. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ina Aneva, Scientific Secretary of the Biodiversity, Bioresources and Ecology Division was elected as Bulgaria’s representative and as such participated in the session, expressing national positions on various issues raised through reports of the MAB Secretariat (contributions to the Montreal Framework; progress on the Lima Action Plan; proposals for new biosphere reserves and various changes to those already listed, more active youth participation in the Programme). The session also discussed a proposal to change the name of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme due to discriminatory issues. Bulgaria expressed its position of disagreement with changing the name of the programme as it would lead to a loss of visibility of a programme that has been recognizable for decades under this name. In addition, for our country and a number of countries with Slavic languages, the issue of discrimination does not arise as the translation is “the human and the biosphere”. After considerable discussion on the subject, it was decided not to change the name.
In Bulgaria, for decades, there has been a national committee of the MAB Programme with the participation of state and scientific institutions with whose Secretary-General (Ms. Zornitza Grekova), Assoc. Prof. Aneva was in constant contact.
