The Minister of the Environment, Cristina Narbona, today inaugurated the Congress of Spanish Biosphere Reserves, which will be held in Lanzarote until the 18th. The event is organized by the Ministry of the Environment and the Cabildo de Lanzarote, in collaboration with the Canary Islands Government.

UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme – known as MaB for short (Man and Biosphere) – has been, since its inception in the early 1970s, an advanced instrument for formulating criteria and exemplifying a new model of relationship between man and nature. As a result of their work, an International Network of Protected Areas emerged, which, to date, covers more than 478 reserves in 102 countries.

Spain, with 33 biosphere reserves, is the third country in the world in areas attached to the Programme, only behind the United States and the Russian Federation. In total, 14 autonomous communities (Extremadura, Cantabria, Castilla y León, Andalusia, Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha, Canary Islands, Euskadi, Madrid, Balearic Islands, Asturias, Navarre, Galicia and La Rioja) have territory declared a biosphere reserve. The Congress of Lanzarote will establish the new lines of action in these reserves, strengthening coordination and cooperation between Administrations.