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What is U.S. MAB? Fact Sheet released by the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Department of State, March 5, 1998.

The Mission of the United States Man and the Biosphere Program (U.S. MAB) is to explore, demonstrate, promote, and encourage harmonious relationships between people and their environments building on the MAB network of biosphere reserves and interdisciplinary research. The long-term goal of the U.S. MAB Program is to contribute to achieving a sustainable society early in the 21st Century. The MAB mission and long term goal will be implemented, in the United States and internationally, through public-private partnerships and linkages that sponsor and promote cooperative, interdisciplinary research, experimentation, education and information exchange on options by which societies can achieve sustainability. Adopted by the U.S. National Committee for the Man and the Biosphere Program, July 26, 1995.

The U.S. National Committee is the policymaking body for the Man and the Biosphere Program. Its current chairman is David F. Hales.

At present, 12 institutional members are represented on the National Committee:

Agency for International Development;
Department of Agriculture - Forest Service;
Department of Commerce - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management;
Department of the Interior - USGS, Biological Resources Division;
Department of the Interior - National Park Service;
Department of State; Environmental Protection Agency;
National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
National Institutes of Health;
National Science Foundation; Peace Corps; and
Smithsonian Institution.

These institutions financially support the U.S. MAB Program on a voluntary basis. Representatives of these institutions, chairs of the MAB directorates, and members from U.S. universities and private sector organizations complete the National Committee membership.

The federal agency representatives to U.S. MAB also comprise the U.S. MAB Executive Committee.

The Six Directorates of U.S. MAB are responsible for program activities. Each directorate has a mission statement to reflect its basic framework and goals.

Five of the directorates are research-oriented and provide opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration among natural and social scientists directed toward solving problems of biological diversity and sustained resource use. The membership of the science directorates reflects a mix of government and private sector scientists of various disciplines.

The sixth and newest directorate is focused on development of a U.S. Biosphere Reserve Program. Its members are primarily land managers from various agencies and foundations.

The administrative Secretariat of the U.S. MAB Program is located in the Office of Ecology and Terrestrial Conservation (ETC) of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) of the U.S. Department of State. The current Executive Director is Dr. Roger E. Soles.

For further information contact:

U.S. MAB Secretariat
Suite 107, SA 44-C, OES/ETC/MAB
U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20522-4401
Tel. (202) 776-8318, Fax. (202) 776-8367
E-mail: usmab@state.gov
or see: http://www.mabnet.org

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