From 5th to 7th November 2025, the Mont-Ventoux Biosphere Reserve in France hosted the RES-MAB Innovation Conference & Mid-Term General Assembling.
The meeting marked an important milestone in the project’s path toward promoting integrated and sustainable resource management across Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves, and it concluded successfully, strengthened by the constructive and dynamic exchange among participants.
The opening sessions underscored the consortium’s strong cohesion. Partners highlighted that the project had already generated significant scientific, strategic, and operational value. Participatory self-evaluations revealed a shared sense of enrichment, clear alignment on the project’s direction, and an enhanced collective capacity to anticipate risks and coordinate upcoming phases more effectively. These early reflections set an optimistic tone for the days ahead.
The RES-MAB Project, funded by the PRIMA Foundation and coordinated by the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), focused on applying the WEFE Nexus approach—integrating Water, Energy, Food, and Ecosystems—across ten Biosphere Reserve demonstration sites. These sites served as living laboratories to test innovative solutions for climate resilience and sustainable development.
The project brought together partners from Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Jordan, Morocco, and Lebanon, including research centers, NGOs, and governmental agencies. Together, they worked to address pressing environmental and social challenges, improve resource management, strengthen biodiversity conservation, and support the livelihoods of local communities.
The mid-term meeting in Mont-Ventoux provided a platform for evaluating progress, sharing knowledge, and aligning future strategies. Over three days, participants reviewed technical achievements, discussed implementation challenges, and refined common frameworks for Nexus-based solutions. Field visits and collaborative workshops further enriched the exchange of experiences among the project’s Mediterranean partners.
A major highlight emerged during the scientific sessions, where the partners presented their planned scientific outputs. CTFC showcased substantial academic progress, including three ongoing PhD dissertations and two completed master’s theses, demonstrating the project’s strong scientific momentum. ANDZOA and Po Delta outlined forthcoming work related to specific cases within their Biosphere Reserves, applying the WEFE Nexus framework to local contexts.
A participatory exercise invited all partners to envision a potential RES-MAB 2.0 proposal, mapping ideas that addressed gaps identified during the current project phase. Key conclusions emphasized the importance of deepening the analysis of individual Biosphere Reserves, understanding context-specific challenges, and build stakeholder trust. These reflections reinforced the consortium’s shared commitment to advancing even stronger outcomes moving forward.
The gathering highlighted the commitment of the RES-MAB consortium to advancing sustainable, locally driven solutions to climate change and resource pressures in the region.
Last modified: 14 November 2025
