Oman secures membership of UNESCO's MAB council until 2029

Tashkent: The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Environment Authority, was elected as a member of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) affiliated with UNESCO for the period from 2025 to 2029. This took place on the sidelines of the meetings of the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference held in the city of Samarkand, the Republic of Uzbekistan.

This election is a culmination of the Sultanate of Oman's continuous efforts in supporting environmental sustainability initiatives, and its tangible contributions to promoting the balance between development requirements and the preservation of ecosystems, in line with Oman Vision 2040 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This new international achievement reflects the leading position of the Sultanate of Oman in the fields of environmental protection and the conservation of biological diversity.

The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) aims to enhance scientific and research cooperation among member states, through expanding the scope of nature reserves, conserving biodiversity, encouraging scientific research, and empowering youth and researchers through research grants provided by the programme. The programme also contributes to raising environmental awareness and tackling climate change challenges by supporting sustainable innovations and solutions.

This international representation constitutes a strategic step that strengthens Oman's presence on global environmental platforms and entrenches the role of the Sultanate of Oman as an active partner in efforts to protect the planet and achieve a balance between humanity and nature.

It is noteworthy that the Sultanate of Oman had previously succeeded in listing two nature reserves within the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves: the Al Sareen Nature Reserve and the Al Jabal Al Akhdar Scenic Reserve.