The Nomination Process

“A lot of work goes into being nominated – and designated – as a biosphere reserve. That is as it should be because it is indeed an honour to have your community recognized as a special place – by a very special organization: UNESCO. The nomination process (which will be examined later in this manual) is a challenge in itself, but actually being a biosphere reserve means living up to UNESCO objectives and the particular strategies of the MAB Programme itself.” A Guide to Being a Biosphere Reserve in Canada.

There is much work to be done before a nomination/ application is submitted to UNESCO in Paris. The team behind the Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative have been working on the steps to becoming a Biosphere Reserve over the past several years. The Nomination document tells that story in addition to describing how the core, buffer and transition zones are managed in the region, how we govern the Biosphere Region and how we sustain the organization that is committed to managing the Biosphere Reserve once designated.

UNESCO makes decisions on designation once a year, usually in late October, and the deadline for receiving nominations from member countries by the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Secretariat in Paris is September 30 each year. In the meantime we are working back and forth with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO to satisfy the questions in order to ensure our nomination is successful when completed.

Our goal is to have a completed nomination for UNESCO in Paris by the fall 2019. Please contact us if you can contribute in any way - howesoundbri@gmail.com.