Barcelona, October 21, 2015
Castellet Castle, headquarters of the Abertis Foundation and UNESCO International Center for Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves, hosts today and until Friday, October 23, the XVI Meeting of the IberoMab Committee with a representation of 17 countries of Ibero-America and the Caribbean : Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Dominican Republic and Uruguay. The work agenda includes sessions on days 21, 22, and on the 23rd there will be a visit to the Terres de l'Ebre Biosphere Reserve.
The day was chaired by Josep Maria Coronas, secretary general of Abertis; Montserrat Fernández, deputy director of the Autonomous Organization of National Parks, an agency under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment; Miquel Clüsener-Godt, head of the MaB division of UNESCO; Dr. Sergio Guevara, President of the National MAB Committee of the Department of Ecology; Sergi Loughney, director of the Abertis Foundation and the UNESCO International Center.
The creation of the IberoMaB Network (Network of MaB Committees and Ibero-American and Caribbean Biosphere Reserves), promoted in 1990 and formally constituted in 1997, arose from the desire of the representatives of Ibero-American countries to establish links and delimit fields of common cooperation among them, in addition to promoting the figure of Biosphere Reserve. Its main objective is to strengthen cooperation between National Committees and MaB Focal Points for the adequate management of the MaB Program in the countries of Ibero-America and the Caribbean.
The first meeting of the Network, convened by the MaB National Committees of Argentina, Brazil and Spain, took place in Caracas in 1992. As of that moment, different meetings have taken place, the last being held in Tumbes, Peru, in 2011. Four years later, with the encouragement and organization by the Abertis Foundation, the National Parks Autonomous Organization of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, and the UNESCO Secretariat, as well as the convocation of the President of the Council International Coordination, the activity of the Network is resumed in this XVI edition.
Since its creation, the Network has carried out joint activities that have allowed National Committees, promote the creation of new Biosphere Reserves and identify current and future challenges and threats for the conservation of diversity and sustainable development. As of today, the IberoMab Network is made up of 24 countries and 177 Biosphere Reserves.
The MaB Program (Man and Biosphere) proposes an agenda of interdisciplinary research and capacity building to improve the relationship of people with their environment in a global way. Use your Biosphere Reserve Network as a vehicle to share knowledge, do research and monitoring, education and training and participatory decision making.
UNESCO International Center
Castellet Castle, UNESCO International Center for Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves was declared on November 14, 2013 within the framework of the General Conference of UNESCO in Paris and inaugurated on April 5, 2014, constituting the first public experience private in this area.
The Center is based on a commitment between the Autonomous Organization of National Parks (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment), UNESCO and the Abertis Foundation, and has the academic support of the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB).
The Biosphere Reserves, coordinated by UNESCO's MaB Program (Man and Biosphere), are representative areas of the territories and landscapes of the Earth, of terrestrial, coastal and marine environments; and aim to reconcile the conservation of nature and socio-economic development.
Castellet Castle, UNESCO International Center for Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves, is located in a privileged natural enclave, the Foix Natural Park, in the Alt Penedès region (Barcelona), Castellet Castle, as well as housing the institutional headquarters of the abertis foundation, it is also a center for disseminating ideas, projects and knowledge, which serves as a stimulus to the interest in cultural and natural heritage, being a paradigm of sustainable heritage management.
Rehabilitated by abertis in 2001 following criteria of sustainable construction, the original construction of the castle dates from the s. IV a.c. The Castle of Castellet has become the ideal setting for observing the rich variety of fauna and flora of the park and the UNESCO International Center is open to the public through guided tours on the second weekend of every month, on Saturday and Sunday, 10 to 14 hours.
The Abertis Foundation and the environment
The Abertis Foundation operates in three major areas (society, culture and environment) with the aim of minimizing the impact on the territory of the Abertis Group's economic activity in the countries in which it operates. The commitment to society is embodied in an extensive road safety program aimed primarily at the most vulnerable groups: school children, young people who are entering the world of motor and older drivers; In the field of culture, the Abertis Foundation collaborates with the main cultural institutions of the world; and, in the environmental field, its headquarters, Castellet Castle, is the UNESCO International Center for Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves.
The Foundation also channels some of Abertis' sponsorships and exercises a cohesive role in the corporate social responsibility actions of the group's companies. The environmental policy of Abertis focuses on the progressive implementation of an environmental management system in the different areas of activity of the Group, in accordance with the requirements of the international standard ISO 14: 001, with the aim of minimizing the environmental impact of the Group activities.
In this sense, Abertis works to reduce the carbon footprint of its economic activity (Carbon Disclosure Project), optimize the management of waste and conserve the biodiversity of the natural spaces where the infrastructures managed by the Group are located. At Abertis, environmental awareness actions are also carried out to extend the commitment to the environment to collaborators, customers and suppliers.
Caption attached: Sergi Loughney, director of the Abertis Foundation and the UNESCO International Center; Josep Maria Coronas, general secretary of Abertis; Montserrat Fernández, deputy director of the Autonomous Organization of National Parks, an agency under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment; Miquel Clüsener-Godt, head of the MaB division of UNESCO; Dr. Sergio Guevara, Chairman of the National MAB Committee of the Department of Ecology.
16 June 2023
TheUNESCO XXXV International Council for the Coordination of Man and Biosphere(MaB) Programme has officialised the MedMaB Mediterranean Biosphere ReservesThematic Network.
18 May 2022
The Council of Ministers of the Government of Spain, at its meeting on June 22, 2021, approved the renewal of the agreement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) with the aim that our country will continue to host the UNESCO International Center forMediterranean Biosphere Reserves, headquarters of the Abertis Foundation, for another six years.
