Kota Kinabalu: The State Government will play host to the 14th Southeast Asian Biosphere Reserve Network (SeaBRnet) Meeting 2023 on behalf of Malaysia from Nov 13 to 15 at Hilton Hotel, here.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew announced this after a briefing by Sabah Parks Deputy Director Ludi Apin, on Tuesday.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor is the Patron of the SeaBRnet Main Committee, with State Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong Safar as one of the four advisers.
“The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment (KePKAS) has been mandated to host the SeaBRnet Meeting, with the Secretariat of SeaBRnet as co-organiser.
“The meeting, with the theme ‘Envisioning People in Biosphere Reserves Living in Harmony with Nature’, will include a special session of The Asia-Pacific Biosphere Reserves Network.
“Some 15 countries, including Myanmar, Lao PDR, Timor-Leste and Micronesia, will be participating in the event. We expect about 200 participants from Malaysia and the international arena,” she said in a statement, Wednesday.
Liew, who is also the Deputy Patron, will officially open the event on Nov 13.
A Biosphere Reserve consists of areas that promote balanced relationships between people and nature. Sabah’s Crocker Range Biosphere Reserve is one of the three Unesco Crown sites in Sabah, the others being Kinabalu Park World Heritage Site and Kinabalu Global Geopark.
SeaBRnet was initiated in 1998 to foster cooperation on various scientific, ecosystem and biosphere reserve management-related issues, such as communication and visibility, eco-tourism, partnership, green economy, governance and climate change.
Also present were KePKAS Deputy Permanent Secretary I Mary Malangking and Sri Pelancongan Sabah (SPS) Chief Executive Officer Thonny Chee.
