LIFE Biospher’Adapt Project: Advancing Climate Change Adaptation in the Mediterranean

Three Biosphere Reserves from the MedMAB network (Gorges du Gardon BR, Falasorma Dui Sevi BR, and Cévennes BR) and the CTFC, as UNESCOMED Center, are proud to participate as partners in the new European LIFE Biospher’Adapt project, which brings together Biosphere Reserves across France to address the urgent challenge of climate change adaptation.

Coordinated by MAB France, the project gathers 11 partners and one associated partner and was officially launched with a kick-off meeting held on March 11–13, where Roser Maneja and Mari Carmen Romera participated as representatives of UNESCOMED Center, reinforcing the network’s active role from the very start. The CTFC-UNESCOMED will contribute to the international dissemination of the project results, especially at the Mediterranean level, and will also foster possible synergies with the RES-MAB project.

Supported by European LIFE CCMA funding, the French Ministry of Ecological Transition, and the Banque des Territoires, LIFE Biospher’Adapt will run from 2024 to 2030 and focus on supporting local actors to design and implement effective climate adaptation strategies. The project leverages the unique role of Biosphere Reserves as “living laboratories” to pilot innovative, participatory approaches.

LIFE Biospher’Adapt is structured around three main pillars:

Adapting and testing methodologies that empower Biosphere Reserve managers to develop climate adaptation plans.
Facilitating the engagement and mobilization of local stakeholders through participatory and forward-looking processes.
Implementing concrete actions on the ground to build climate resilience.

Through this partnership, UNESCOMED Center reaffirms the strategic role of Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves in leading innovative, cooperative responses to climate change, fostering research, and strengthening regional resilience in line with the UNESCO MaB Programme’s mission.

Núria Pou

Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves: Living Labs for Ecological Restoration

7 July 2026

Mediterranean project

UNESCOMED contributed to the International Workshop on Standards for Promoting Forest Restoration in the Mediterranean, reinforcing its commitment to advancing science-based, collaborative restoration across the Mediterranean region.
UNESCO Biosphere Reserves already embody many of the 10 Principles to guide the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021 - 2030, integrating science, adaptive management and local knowledge.
Field visits to Sierra Espuña and the Mar Menor demonstrated how long-term, science-based restoration can successfully address complex environmental challenges across Mediterranean landscapes.

Núria Pou

UNESCOMED and RES-MAB participate in the 8th International Congress of the Argan Tree in Essaouira, Morocco

15 May 2026

project RES_MAB

From 8^th to 10^th May, representatives of the International Centre for the Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves (UNESCOMED) participated in the 8th International Congress of the Argan Tree held in Essaouira, Morocco, under the theme “From Argan Forest to Arganiculture: The Argan Tree as a Pillar of Water Resilience for Ecosystems, Territories, and Communities.”

Dr. Roser Maneja, our Scientific Director, and Dr Quim Zaldo, researcher from the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia, attended the event and contributed to two round tables, one related to the WEFE nexus approach aligned with the RES-MAB project, and the other related to the governance of Biosphere Reserves.