To mark the start of what is expected to be the final half-year of the German-Polish BRI Interreg project MoPA (“Monitoring of protected areas”), we hosted a partner meeting at the Biosphere Reserves Institute (BRI) of the HNEE. Dr Ana Filipa Ferreira, Managing Director of the BRI, began by presenting the institute origins, structure and key areas of work. The subsequent question-and-answer session focused primarily on the internationally oriented Master’s programme in ‘Biosphere Reserves Management’ (BIOM) and trends in student numbers, including a comparison with similar degree programmes at the universities of our Polish guests.

During the three-hour meeting, we were able to look back on the project’s successful activities of the past few months. Planning the event formats scheduled up to spring brought a breath of fresh air to the meeting. In addition, progress was made on the design of the methodology handbook planned for the large-scale protected areas of the Pomerania Euroregion, intended to supplement existing monitoring procedures.

The meeting concluded with a short tour across the HNE’s city campus and refreshments at Café Gustav, during which ideas were further developed in individual discussions.