Lithuania elected to the International Coordinating Council of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme
During the 43rd session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which takes place in Samarkand (Uzbekistan) from 30 October to 13 November 2025, Lithuania was elected to the International Coordinating Council of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme for a period of four years.
In the elections for a vacant seat in the second electoral group of the Council, Lithuania defeated Russia. At the session of UNESCO's General Conference, Russia also failed to be elected to several other UNESCO advisory bodies during the elections to the UNESCO Executive Board (positions were secured by elected Ukraine, Romania and Moldova), UNESCO's Information for All Programme (Latvia was elected), and the UNESCO International Programme for the Development of Communication Council (Latvia, the Czech Republic and Poland were elected).
According to Lithuania’s Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Ambassador Jolanta Balčiūnienė, Lithuania's unique experience in combining the promotion of natural diversity with the interests of local communities and managing the only Žuvintas Biosphere Reserve included in UNESCO's network so far will be of interest and benefit to the wider international community.
UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme uses natural and social sciences to improve the relationship between people and their surrounding environment, aiming to create sustainable development guidelines for conserving and using the biosphere's resources. The Global Network of Biosphere Reserves, part of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme, connects 727 sites in 131 countries. In 2011, the Žuvintas Biosphere Reserve was included in the Global Network of Biosphere Reserves under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme.
Social media
