Professor Adepoju Adesola, director general of the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, FRIN, has been elected chairman of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO’s International Co-ordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme.
The Ogbomoso-born don will be representing Nigeria on the council.
Adepoju’s election was announced on the official social media handle of the Permanent Delegation of Nigeria to UNESCO on Monday.
Launched in 1971, the MAB programme is an intergovernmental scientific programme aimed at establishing a scientific basis to enhance the relationship between people and their environment.
“The MAB Programme develops the basis within the natural and social sciences for the rational and sustainable use and conservation of the resources of the biosphere and for the improvement of the overall relationship between people and their environment.
“It predicts the consequences of today’s actions on tomorrow’s world and thereby increases people’s ability to efficiently manage natural resources for the well-being of both human populations and the environment.”
Besides, it strives to, “identify and assess the changes in the biosphere resulting from human and natural activities and the effects of these changes on humans and the environment, in particular in the context of climate change;
“Ensure human welfare and a live able environment in the context of rapid urbanization and energy consumption as drivers of environmental change;
“Promote the exchange and transfer of knowledge on environmental problems and solutions, and to foster environmental education for sustainable development.”
