UNESCO's Fifth World Congress of Biosphere Reserves, to be held in China next year, will provide a model and an exemplar for the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, experts and officials said at an event in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, over the weekend to mark the one-year countdown to the congress.

On the sidelines of the event held in the city's Lin'an district, Antonio Abreu, director of the Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences in the Natural Sciences Sector of UNESCO and Secretary of the MAB Programme, inspected the former Tianmushan Biosphere Reserve last year.

He said the experience gave him high expectations for next year's congress and council meeting.

"China is really expressing the relationship between man and nature," he said. "Here, we see the full dimensions of nature conservation, scientific understanding and knowledge, while also bringing together landscape concerns, water management, and integrating heritage and culture.

"It's impressive, both in terms of the way things are being done and the strategic planning and conceptual approach involved."

The congresses, held every 10 years, are the largest international conferences in the Man and the Biosphere Programme.

The fifth congress — the first in the Asia-Pacific region — will take place in Hangzhou from Sept 22 to 27 next year.

The four previous congresses have been held in Minsk, Belarus; Seville and Madrid, Spain; and Lima, Peru.

"I am sure that it will be a landmark event for the Man and the Biosphere Programme, and I cannot think of a better place to design and envision the future," Abreu said. "Led by UNESCO and China, all nations of the world can work together to shape the next 10-year strategy."

The Tianmushan Biosphere Reserve was designated by the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme in 1996, and was the first reserve in Zhejiang to be included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

In July, it was extended from 43 square kilometers to 547 sq km, and now incorporates the Qingliangfeng National Nature Reserve, which also forms part of the Tianmu Mountain Range, and its name was changed accordingly.

The expansion will enhance the integrity of the reserve's ecosystem.

"Applying for expansion requires submitting a series of findings, including biodiversity characteristics, species status, and community planning, which typically involves a long process," said Han Qunli, a member of the advisory committee of the Chinese National Committee for the Man and the Biosphere Programme. "However, Lin'an achieved this in just two years."

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