Morocco to chair UNESCO’s ICC-MAB for two years

Morocco was elected on Tuesday to the presidency of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and Biosphere Program (ICC-MAB) during the Council’s 36th Session held July 1-5 in Agadir.

Morocco, represented by Latifa Yaacoubi, Director General of the Moroccan Agency for the Development of Oases and Argan Zones (ANDZOA), will chair the ICC-MAB for a two-year term.

Speaking on the occasion, Yaacoubi, who succeeds Nigeria’s Adepoju Adeshola in this position, welcomed the confidence placed in Morocco to chair the ICC-MAB, and vowed to work with the other members and partners of the Council to implement the various projects under the MAB Program.

“I am honored by this responsibility and fully committed, in accordance with the high royal orientations, to strengthening cooperation relations with member countries, and to continuing on the same momentum with a view to promoting the development of biospheres, towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals,” she stressed.

Reacting to Morocco’s election to chair the ICC-MAB, several representatives from ICC-MAB member countries praised the Kingdom’s significant contribution to the implementation of environmental initiatives and its repeated calls to strengthen regional and international cooperation on the issue.

The ICC-MAB’s mission includes guiding and supervising the MAB Program, reviewing progress in its implementation, recommending research projects to States, and formulating proposals on the organization of regional or international cooperation.

The Council is composed of 34 Member States of UNESCO, elected by the General Conference at its ordinary sessions, taking into account equitable geographical distribution, the need to ensure appropriate rotation, the ecological representativeness of these States in the various continents, and the importance of their scientific participation in the international program.