Moderators: Dr. Suk-Kyung Shim, MAB National Committee of the Republic of Korea and Prof. Roman Jashenko, Chairman of the Kazakhstan National MAB Committee
In this session, the EABRN member countries held thematic presentations on “Sustaining Biosphere Reserves for SDGs in the (post) pandemic period”, illustrated how the COVID-19 affected the BRs and described the current situation and related measures (Presentations can be found in Annex_4). Following, there were a panel discussion on youth involvement in MAB activities and parallel sessions for the EABRN Steering Committee and the BR representatives.
MAB-Kazakhstan: Prof. Roman Jashenko, Chairman of the National MAB Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan & Ms. Viktoriya Ilina, member of the National MAB Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Ms. Viktoriya Ilina, a Member of the Kazakhstan National Committee for MAB programme and a Member of the Tethys Scientific Society, introduced the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Specially Protected Natural Territories", Categories of Protected Areas, BRs and Transboundary BRs of Kazakhstan. Then, she emphasised the main threat to the “Malus sieversii”- wild apple trees in Kazakhstan and YiLi Valley, Xinjiang, China. Afterwards, she introduced the events organised for youth and youth from Kazakhstan, who are participating in the activities with the aim to protect the Biosphere Reserves. She ended her presentation with two proposals:
● To develop a mobile application to promote sustainable tourism in UNESCO Biosphere Reserves
● To conduct an international research with the participation of representatives of different countries on the territories of UNESCO biosphere reserves.
She pointed out that the positive aspects of this initiative are the opportunity to promote science for young people and expand the opportunities for international cooperation.
MAB-China: Dr. Zhishu Xiao, Professor, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Dr. Zhishu Xiao introduced the Integrated Wildlife Monitoring Program, which the Chebaling BR implements as a way of sustaining BRs during (post-)pandemic times using modern technologies. This system uses modern technologies, such as cloud computing, big data mining and AI to analyse the visual, acoustic and sensor-based observation more efficiently. He also presented the socio-cultural impacts of the biodiversity conservation in terms of education and communication. The review of this program showed that modern technologies, implemented along the direction of low cost, convenience and intelligence, could substantially improve wildlife monitoring and research in BRs.
MAB-ROK: Dr. Miyeong Yoo, Biosphere Resource Manager
Dr. Miyeong Yoo, Biosphere Reserve Manager of the Republic of Korea, introduced the activities implemented in Yeoncheon Imjin River BR, in Jeju Island BR, and in Gochang BR. In particular, the number of visitors in the Yeoncheon Imjin River BR increased after the loosening the lockdown measures due to the COVID-19, as the BR is located close to Seoul. She also mentioned that during the pandemic the Yeoncheon Imjin River BR developed educational programs for online use, such as promotion of ecotourism, training for school teachers and students, and development and dissemination of posters including different information about ecotourism during the pandemic. She emphasised the importance of the promotion of ecotourism through Social Media.
MAB-Mongolia: Mr. Ts. Dashpurev, Director, Hustain Nuruu BR
Mr. Ts. Dashpurev, Director of Hustain Nuruu BR, introduced the Hustain Nuruu Biosphere Reserve’s experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a decrease in income and the need to be supported financially. He also emphasised that the Administration of Hustain Nuruu BR did not dismiss any employee and never stopped the main activity despite having many challenges during the pandemic. Moreover, Mr Ts. Dashpurev mentioned that the State Protected Areas of Mongolia consist of 120 SPAs with 32.8 million hectares, which is 21% of the total territory. The national goal is to reach 30% by 2030. At the end of his presentation, he introduced the activities implemented by the Administration of Hustain Nuruu BR in order to promote.
MAB-Japan: Mr. Takumi Akiyama, City College of Science Yokohama National University
Through his presentation, Mr. Takumi Akiyama, a student from the City College of Science at Yokohama National University, introduced the negative impacts of the pandemic including the decrease of nature conservation activities, decline of the number of tourists and the drop of the income of local economy, as well as the positive impact including the online communication. Furthermore, he highlighted the activities implemented in the Shinshu ESD Consortium in Shiga Highland BR during COVID-19. In particular, the children present the results of their daily studies of sustainable development to each other and learn from each other through the exchanges using the online platforms in the Shinshu ESD Consortium.