How collective visions become real change: young leaders share their experience
Queen Elizabeth Hare, Kenya’s National MAB Youth Focal Point, brings forward a clear message from her community: young people are ready to commit to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, but they want a stronger voice. They seek meaningful participation in decision-making within local initiatives, national committees, and regional bodies, as well as greater involvement in field activities.
For Queen Elizabeth, to make that possible, more concrete support is needed in this process. Funding, project management, and impact reporting are crucial to sustain the work young people are doing and expand its reach.
Thousands of kilometres away, David Béland, Canada’s National MAB Youth Focal Point, echoes a similar concern from a different context.
David draws attention to the increasingly visible differences in capacity among Biosphere Reserves. While some benefit from strong infrastructure, paid staff, cutting-edge technology, and stable networks, others continue to face significant capacity and connectivity barriers. As global ambitions grow, he warns, so does the risk of widening inequalities, making it harder for some communities to keep pace with evolving strategies and frameworks.
From this testimony, a pivotal point emerges: sustainable development requires both progress and equity; it is paramount that the MAB programme ensures that no community is left behind.
Despite their geographical distance, Queen Elizabeth and David face many of the same challenges in delivering Biosphere Reserve projects. These shared experiences demonstrate the importance of the MAB Youth Declaration and MAB Youth Roadmap, ensuring that the Forum’s outcomes can drive meaningful and inclusive impact across all Biosphere Reserves.
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