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The Secretary of the Spanish Committee of the MAB Programme (Man and the Biosphere Programme launched by UNESCO in 1971), Jose Cantos, recently gave us a diploma awarded for GOB’s contribution to the Sustainable Socioeconomic Development of Menorca. It was recorded in the Reserve of the Biosphere Recognitions for Environmental Commitment granted by the Autonomous Agency of National Parks of the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

GOB has received this award “for its participation in multiple sustainable social and economic development projects, in which the Land Stewardship Scheme stands out”. The resolution highlights the large number of people associated with GOB (1,450 members), their participation in many conservation campaigns and in projects that focus on orienting the economy toward sustainability, as well as for the promotion of the Land Stewardship Scheme that includes 34 agricultural farms signed up to the agreement.

The selection of awards for environmental commitment in the Biosphere Reserves analysed 112 candidates and finally granted 17 distinctions. In the case of Menorca, under the heading of Promotion of Environmental Research and Education, the Institute of Menorcan Scientific Studies – OBSAM – was recognised as the driving force behind the declaration of the Reserve of the Biosphere in Menorca and for its scientific monitoring of sustainability indicators.

This recognition at a state level has been received 24 years after Menorca became a Reserve of the Biosphere, and adds to the international prize that GOB received in those first years. That award was given in 1997, by TUI International that wanted to honour the active contribution by GOB for making the Reserve of the Biosphere a reality and not just an honorific title.