Man and the Biosphere (MAB) is a UNESCO program that provides a scientific basis for improving the relationship between people and nature. The program combines natural and social sciences with the aim of improving human livelihoods, safeguarding natural and managed ecosystems, and thus promoting innovative approaches to socially and culturally appropriate and ecologically sustainable economic development. The World Network of Biosphere Reserves currently counts 738 model regions for sustainable development in 134 countries, thereof four in Austria including the new five-country biosphere reserve promoted as the "Amazon of Europe" along the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers.
The Austrian MAB National Committee was established in 1972, only one year after the founding of the UNESCO MAB program, based on a contract between the Ministry of Science and Research and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW). The aim of the committee is to steer and coordinate Austrian MAB research (see Earth System Science program, or the currently open MAB call). In addition, the biosphere reserves – as model regions and living labs for sustainable development – fall under the responsibility of the MAB Committee, which is currently chaired by the BOKU professors Marianne Penker and Arne Arnberger.
This year's EuroMAB conference took place from September 12-16, 2022 in Bad Kleinkirchheim in the Carinthian part of the "Salzburger Lungau & Kärntner Nockberge" UNESCO biosphere reserve which wwas be the worthy setting to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Austrian MAB National Committee. This regular conference of the EuroMAB regional group of biosphere reserves in Europe and North America is a platform to share knowledge, know-how and experiences on sustainable development and species conservation between biosphere reserve managers, scientists, the national MAB committees, UNESCO representatives, the local population and partner organizations.
Under the motto 'Tying cultures. Crossborder cooperation between societies and generations', about 150 delegates from 27 countries discussed in numerous plenary sessions and 15 workshops, among others, how cooperation and communication between science, biosphere reserves and various stakeholders and institutions can be improved. The internationally renowned event was organized by the management of the biosphere reserve Nockberge, the Austrian MAB National Committee and the Austrian UNESCO Commission; and it was supported by the Carinthian federal government. The aim of the organizers was to bring together science, people and companies from the region as well as biosphere reserves from neighboring countries to learn from each other, to give young people a voice, and to organize an environmentally friendly and resource-saving event with short distances.
Due to centuries of experience with cross-border cultural relations, the Nockberge region offered the perfect setting for the conference theme, namely the challenges and opportunities of cross-border cooperation between societies and generations. Regional culture is as diverse as nature and as unique as the landscape of the biosphere reserve. Regional traditions and customs have been passed on for many generations and, thanks to the population and the commitment of dedicated associations, are still alive and relevant in the region today. Historic buildings and authentic festivals bear witness to a diverse rural culture. This is due not least to the location of the Nockberge mountains in the southern part of Austria, close to the border with Slovenia and the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The spatial proximity has enabled a lively cultural exchange between the ethnic groups and regions over many centuries, which has been intensified with great effort. Thus, the administration of the biosphere reserve Nockberge has been working very closely for many years with the national park Triglav, the biosphere reserve "Škocjanske jame" (Slovenia) and the biosphere reserve Julian Alps (Italy).
The dedicated work of the National Committee and the domestic biosphere reserves has also been recognized internationally. In the last 20 years, Austria has been elected several times to the decision-making body of the MAB program, the MAB-International Coordinating Council (MAB-ICC), and the coordinator of the OeAW research programs and now committee member Günter Köck also held the vice-chairmanship of the international MAB program four times.