Press Room

During the 24th and 25th of May, in the UNESCO International Centre for the Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves, it celebrated the Doctorial Sessions: Applied Researches in the Natural Protected Areas of UNESCO (Biosphere Reserves and Geoparks): Morocco – France – Spain. In this academic act participated twenty researchers, between PhD students and their professors and supervisors of different institutions and universities (“Institut de Ciencia i Tecnologia Ambiental de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona” (ICTA-UAB); University Cadi Ayyad (UCA) of Marrakesh, and the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) of Paris) with the aim of presenting seven different PhD thesis related with the Biosphere Reserves and Geoparks, both are Protection Figures of UNESCO.

The Dr. Martí Boada, researcher and professor of ICTA-UAB and the scientific director of the International Centre UNESCO and the Dra. Roser Maneja, researcher and professor of ICTA-UAB and coordinator of the UNESCO Centre, welcomed to all the assistants and presented the Centre and the Network of Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves. After that, Prof. José Luís Briansó of the Geology Department of the UAB and Prof. Yves Girault of the MNHN presented the European Project Geopark H2020-MSCA-RISE.

The second day of the session was totally dedicated to the presentations and the debates of the different Doctoral Thesis that are going on for the next PhD students:

• Ms. Catalina González from MNHN, France: Exploration through different approaches of the interpretation of geological heritage. Special focus on Latin-American an Spanish cases
• Ms. Yi Du from MNHN, France: From geoheritage interpretation to geoscience mediation: the status of field.
• Mr. Eloi Guerrero from Geology Department of UAB, Spain: Mineral deposits of Pb-Ba in Sant Julià de Llor zone (Guilleries massif, Catalonia).
• Mr. Ayoub Elouarti from UCA, Morocco: The issues of patrimonialization and touristification of Agro-sylvo-pastoralism lifestyle for territorial development on mountain areas. The Agdal of Oukaimden and Yagour.
• Mr. Faysal Lemjidi from UCA, Morocco: Neolithic heritage between the pre-Sahara and the High Atlas.
• Ms. Cinthia Pereira from ICTA-UAB, Spain: Abilities to understand the territory from a socioecological perspective in Biosphere Reserves. The study cases of Montseny Biosphere Reserve (Spain) and Cerrado Biosphere Reserve (Brazil).
• Mr. José F. Cáceres from ICTA-UAB, Spain: Developing tools for conservation in the high Andean Area of Cajas Massif Biosphere Reserve (Ecuador).The Prof. Rosângela Corrêa of the University of Brasilia (Brazil) ended the session with her presentation about the Biosphere Reserves of Brazil.After this session was agreed to realize a second doctorial session in the city of Marrakech in October of this year, as an event related to the COP22 which this year takes place in the same Moroccan city, where the UNESCO International Centre for the Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves have a prominent role