SV MAB

Slovak Committee of MAB UNESCO

The Slovak Committee for the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (SV MAB) was established as an advisory body to the Slovak Commission for UNESCO. It was established in 1993, following on from the results of the former Czechoslovak Committee for the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme, which had been operating since 1971. Its task is to coordinate activities in UNESCO biosphere reserves in the Slovak Republic (Tatra Mountains, Poľana, Slovak Karst, Eastern Carpathians, with the Tatras and Eastern Carpathians being part of transboundary biosphere reserves) with the aim of their sustainable development. Following the change in the statute of the Slovak Commission for UNESCO, the SV MAB was also renewed in 2016. The committee currently has 22 members from research and educational institutions, from the Coordination Councils of the relevant biosphere reserves, from the State Nature Conservation Agency of the Slovak Republic, and from land managers.

Significant milestones of the activities of the SV MAB:

  • Nominations of Slovak BRs, Slovak Karst (1977), Poľana (1990), Tatras (1992) and Eastern Carpathians (1998)
  • In 1993, the MAB SV was first represented at the EUROMAB meeting in Zakopane, Poland; in the following years, the MAB SK regularly participated in EUROMAB meetings
  • In 1994, the publication “Biosphere Reserves on Crossroads of Central Europe” was published in cooperation with the Czech National Committee for UNESCO MAB
  • The MAB SV prepared the materials for the publication of the publication for individual BRs – Slovak Karst, Poľana, Tatras, Eastern Carpathians
  • Open Door Days began to be organized annually in all BRs in Slovakia – an event for local residents and affected groups with the participation of the professional and journalistic public
  • Draft of an Action Plan for the BR of the Slovak Republic Organization of international scientific conferences (IX)
  • Preparation of periodic assessments of the territories Issuance of publications, brochures (1998: Role of UNESCO MAB Biosphere Reserves in implementation of the convention on biological diversity, 2005: Poľana Biosphere Reserve after fifteen years, 2009: EUROMAB 2009, “Doing together, learning together”, Biosphere Reserves in Slovak Republic”, 2009: Biosphere reserves in Slovakia)
  • MAB SC participated in various international projects In 2008, a representative was appointed to the ICC – presidency during the GC
  • In 2018, MAB SC members became advisors in expert groups: Technical guidelines for BR UNESCO and Ad hoc group for BR UNESCO

The current activities of MAB SC are aimed at gradually fulfilling the vision of the direction of biosphere reserves:

  • Ensure support for BR by the Government of the Slovak Republic
  • Ensure finances for the fulfillment of functions in BR
  • Promotion of territories
  • Education and training
  • Research and monitoring
  • Participatory and transparent management BR
  • Public-Private Partnerships
  • Close-to-Nature Management
  • International Model Forest Network
  • National and International Cooperation

Representative persons

Juraj Hreško

He is a professor at the Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Humanities, University of Nitra. In his teaching, he focuses on abiotic components and processes in the landscape. In his research, he focuses on the high-mountain landscape of the Tatras with an emphasis on morphodynamic processes and the development of mosses. Within the APVV agency and currently also within the VEGA agency, he addresses the issue of archetypes of the Slovak landscape. He is a member of the TANAP Council and a member of the Slovak Committee of the MAB UNESCO for Biosphere Reserves.

Katarína Vitálišová

She is an associate professor at the Department of Public Economics and Regional Development, Faculty of Economics, Matej Bel University. Her research focuses on issues of public governance/administration, building and maintaining relationships and partnerships between stakeholders, strategic planning of territorial development and implementation of new approaches in it, including creative and smart cities, city marketing. She is a member of several international professional networks in the field of regional and local development, management and marketing of territories.

Veronika Piscová

She works at the Institute of Landscape Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences as a Senior Researcher, and as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Informatics, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. She also serves as a member of a brainstorming group within the World Network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves (MAB UNESCO) for the Europe and North America section. Her research primarily focuses on landscape ecology, biodiversity, and alpine botany.

Ing. Vladimíra Fabriciusová, PhD.

She is the Director of the Poľana Protected Landscape Area Administration, Chairwoman of the Slovak UNESCO Committee for the Man and the Biosphere Programme, and Manager of the Poľana Biosphere Reserve. During her professional career, she has held positions as an inorganic officer at the Poľana Protected Landscape Area Administration and later as a regional manager of foreign direct investments at the SARIO agency. She has worked at the Ministry of Agriculture as Secretary General of the Service Office, and later at the Ministry of the Environment. In 2014, she founded the Coordination Council of the Poľana Biosphere Reserve, a significant association. In 2016, she received the prestigious Michel Batisse Prize at UNESCO headquarters in Paris for the best management of biosphere reserves in the world.

Mgr. Lucia Miňová

She works at the Administration of the Poľana Protected Landscape Area as the manager of biosphere reserves in Slovakia. She is a member of the Slovak MAB Committee. She contributes to fulfilling the mission of the Poľana Biosphere Reserve, particularly in logistics and development functions. She focuses on tasks related to raising awareness, promotion, environmental education, training, and projects. She helps build regional cooperation with international reach within the global network of biosphere reserves. She ensures communication related to international conventions and the UNESCO Intergovernmental MAB Programme.