🌍 Leadership and Active Participation: The Sierra de las Nieves Biosphere Reserve at UNESCO’s 3rd Global MAB Youth Forum
From May 18 to 22, the Sierra de las Nieves participated in UNESCO’s 3rd Global MAB Youth Forum, an international gathering where more than 200 young people from 109 countries joined forces to promote sustainability and the future of our regions.
Our Reserve has been represented by Helios Isidoro Muñoz Narváez, selected by UNESCO to serve as an ambassador and proactive voice for our territory, as well as for the Mediterranean Network of Biosphere Reserves. At the national level, this participation has been part of representing the Spanish Network of Biosphere Reserves, working in close collaboration with colleagues Diego Chinea (La Gomera, and Spain’s youth focal point), Arnau Pou (Terres de L’Ebre), and Diego Álvarez (Alto Bernesga) to create a collective impact.
Beyond the technical work, this gathering has been immensely valuable on both a human and professional level. It has been a unique opportunity to connect with people from around the world who are deeply connected to these natural areas. Sharing this vast wealth of knowledge, experiences, and perspectives provides invaluable enrichment, creating bonds that strengthen our commitment not only to the local area but also to the international character of the MAB Program itself. This global interconnectedness and the exchange of experiences are essential for inspiring one another and improving the management, conservation, and condition of Biosphere Reserves around the world.
Bringing the voices of our youth to this global stage has been made possible thanks to the strategic and financial support of the Abertis Foundation and the International Center for Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves (UNESCOMED). We would like to express our sincere gratitude to UNESCO for its selection and coordination, as well as to the Italian organizing committee and the Po Delta Biosphere Reserve for their tremendous commitment and excellent work during the forum.
This meeting has been essential for contributing to the drafting of an ambitious Youth Declaration and a Working Document on Goals and Objectives. In turn, this forum provides a key impetus and a great source of inspiration for the current structure of the Youth Network of the Spanish Network of Biosphere Reserves. Furthermore, it lays the groundwork for strengthening youth participation in the Mediterranean Network and in the active and inspiring IberoMAB Youth Network—of which we are a part—as well as in the other networks we belong to, with the clear aim of promoting the creation of new youth networks and their full participation.
Mancomunidad 
