40 years of the UNESCO Man and the biosphere programme in Austria-a success story of ecologic basic research evolving into a flagship of transdisciplinarity

Abstract

In 2013 the Austrian Man and the Biosphere (MAB) research programme, funded by the Federal Ministry for Science and Research (BMWF) and coordinated by a National Committee at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, making it one of the longest existing national MAB committees. This article provides a short history of the international MAB programme and the Austrian MAB National Committee and highlights selected top research.