The current project builds upon the achievements of a long and successful research process initiated by the Austrian MAB committee and realized by the Vienna Institute of Social Ecology (SEC), for creating a new Biosphere Reserve (BR) on the Greek island of Samothraki. Two feasibility studies, financed by seed funding from the Austrian MAB committee, and one in collaboration with UNESCO Venice1 have been instrumental in this respect in setting the ground and mobilizing local support that has resulted in two applications to UNESCO for Samothraki to be included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (2011 and 2013), that were unanimously supported by the Mayor and the Municipal Council, and found support from the local community (Fischer-Kowalski et al. 2011, Petridis 2016). One further key outcome of this preparatory work and communication efforts was the legal establishment of a local association “Sustainable Samothraki” for assuming a role in the future BR management and promoting local sustainability initiatives. Our activities over the past years have been highly acknowledged, including the Sustainability Award 2010 received by the Austrian Ministry of Science and Research, and the Honorary Citizenship Marina Fischer-Kowalski received from the Municipality of Samothraki in 2012 for her long standing and sustained efforts to transform the island into a MAB Reserve. Moreover, the previous projects have led to the development of an ongoing intellectually challenging research program2 that aims at supporting the local administration in achieving practical sustainable development goals (Petridis and Fischer Kowalski 2016, Petridis et al. 2017).

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