At the 18th Session of the UNESCO MAB ICC (International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme) held in UNESCO Headquarters on 25-29 October 2004 in Paris, Korea’s head of delegations, Dr. Chung Il Choi, was elected as a vice chairperson of the MAB Bureau. Upon the selection, Dr. Choi, who is currently a professor at Hanyang University, will serve the 2-year term for the Bureau. This is the first time that a Korean representative was elected as a Bureau member by the ICC.

The core responsibilities of the MAB Bureau, which consists of 1 Chairperson and 5 Vice-Chairpersons, include: deciding upon nominations for designations of biosphere reserves; progress review on MAB Programs, its planning within UNESCO, and reviewing any adjustments deemed appropriate; and recipient selections for the MAB Young Scientist Award.

With representatives from a total of 68 countries including 34 Member States of UNESCO, and representatives from international organizations including IUCN, UNEP, and the Secretariat for the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Biodiversity, the MAB ICC has reviewed progress made in program implementation since its 17th session (18-22 March 2002) and decided on some proposals for the future (2005-2010) of the program. Among the decisions, 19 new sites have been added to the UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves and 10 winners of the MAB Young Scientist Award Scheme were selected.

Korea has been actively involved with MAB Programs, spearheading the formation of EABRN (East Asian Biosphere Reserves Network), a project jointly promoted by the Republic of Korea, Russia, China, Japan, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Furthermore, the nation has been making annual contributions of USD 35,000 towards MAB Programs.