Eberswalde celebrates the first supervisory board of the UNESCO biosphere institute!

Eberswalde celebrates the first supervisory board of the UNESCO biosphere institute!

Eberswalde, Deutschland - On June 19, 2025, the constituent meeting of the Supervisory Board of the Biosphere Reserve Institute (BRI) took place in Eberswalde. This institute at the University of Sustainable Development Eberswalde (HNEE) is not only unique, but also the first UNESCO category 2 institute with this direction worldwide. A year after the trilateral agreement between UNESCO, the Federal Foreign Office and the HNEE, this meeting represents a significant step in international cooperation in order to promote the goal of sustainable development. Barnim currently reports that the BRI functions-it supports research, research, Political advice and educational offers for biosphere reserves and is therefore part of a global network of UNESCO partners.

The UNESCO program "Man and the Biosphere" (MAB), founded in 1971, plays a central role in this. It has set itself the goal of improving the relationship between people and nature on a global level and combines nature and social sciences to develop innovative solutions for sustainable economic development. With over 700 biosphere reserves worldwide, the MAB offers a platform for scientific cooperation and the exchange of information. The reserves act as "open -air laboratories" for sustainable development and ensure biological diversity in a complex interaction with human activities. UNESCO emphasizes that recognition as a biosphere reserve requires specific landscape types and model-like sustainable development.

strategic orientation of the Bri

The Bri's supervisory board, which meets at least once a year, has the task of designing the institute's strategic direction, define milestones and checking the independent way of working. Basic decisions have already been made in the first session. Dr. Stefanie Hedtkamp was elected chairman, while Dr. SUK-Kyung Shim took on the role of deputy chairpersons. The members of the Supervisory Board represent a large number of countries and organizations, among them experts from Canada, Ghana, the Republic of Korea and Costa Rica. This makes the international character of the institute clear, which is also of central importance in the evaluation and adaptation of strategies.

In the run-up to the session, the members had the opportunity to visit the Schorfheide chori biosphere reserve. This excursion should not only give the participants a practical insight into sustainable land use, but also illustrate the importance of environmental education in biosphere reserves. BfN emphasizes that biosphere reserves serve as model regions to link sustainable development and nature conservation and thus make essential contributions to global sustainability goals.

overarching goals

The mission of the BRI also includes the training of the youngsters. The institute offers a master's program in the "Biosphere Reserve Management" area and cooperates with the Leuphana University of Lüneburg to build a doctoral college. The focus is on research focuses such as the effect and importance of biosphere reserves as model regions for sustainable development. These educational and research offers are closely linked to the goals of the MAB, which drives the development of sustainable economies and the securing of biological diversity.

summarized, the first meeting of the Bri supervisory board shows how important international collaborations are in the field of nature conservation and sustainable development. At the end of the day there are the challenges of climate change and the loss of biological diversity on the agenda - topics that affect not only the current but also the future generation. The activities of the BRI have the potential to make numerous positive changes in dealing with our natural resources and to promote a sustainable lifestyle.