Over the next few years, Vordingborg Municipality and the Møn UNESCO Biosphere Reserve will play a leading role in biodiversity efforts across the Nordic region.
The municipality has been selected to lead a joint Nordic project aimed at strengthening cooperation between ambitious nature-focused municipalities and biosphere reserves.
This designation also comes with funding, which means that Vordingborg Municipality can create a full-time position focused partly on expanding the current biosphere reserve in Vordingborg Municipality and partly on the joint Nordic project.
We are thrilled that Vordingborg Municipality has been selected us to lead this exciting Nordic project. We have gained valuable experience from our work with the Møn UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and we look forward to exchanging even more knowledge with our colleagues from other Nordic countries, says Kathrine Olldag, head of the Center for Culture, Leisure & Development.
The project (MAB-LAB III) will run for two years starting January 1, 2026, and is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers under the Nature Program. As the lead partner in the MAB-LAB project, Vordingborg Municipality will play an active role in shaping the future of biosphere work throughout Scandinavia, explains Kathrine Olldag:
The lead role provides direct access to international knowledge, partnerships, and methods that can elevate the municipality’s biosphere initiative to a whole new level. The lead role also means greater capacity to bring together local stakeholders, engage citizens, and create projects that both strengthen nature and provide new job and development opportunities. In short, Vordingborg Municipality isn’t just part of a biosphere reserve—it’s becoming a beacon, showing the way forward on how to combine nature conservation, innovation, and local growth simultaneously.
The project will be implemented in four phases from 2026 to 2027. The network will consist of 15–20 municipalities and biosphere reserves from across the Nordic region.
The new network builds on the experiences gained from two previous projects, MAB-LAB I and II. The goal is to enable municipalities and biosphere reserves in the Nordic region to convert global biodiversity goals into concrete local actions.
Read more about MAB-LAB I and II here.