Biosphere reserves
Biosphere reserves are designated areas aimed at promoting sustainable development while conserving biodiversity. Established under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) program in 1974, these reserves consist of three distinct zones: a core area dedicated to conservation, a buffer zone allowing for limited human activity, and a transition zone where sustainable resource use is actively encouraged. The network of biosphere reserves spans 759 sites across 136 countries, with the largest numbers found in the United States, China, Russia, and Spain.
The primary objectives of biosphere reserves include minimizing biodiversity loss, fostering environmental education, and enhancing the linkages between cultural and biological diversity. They serve as experimental grounds for new conservation and development strategies, facilitating the integration of ecological research, community engagement, and sustainable resource management. While many biosphere reserves have shown promise in balancing human activity with ecological preservation, challenges persist, especially in regions facing economic and political instability where illegal activities threaten conservation efforts.
Biosphere reserves exemplify a collaborative approach to environmental stewardship, aiming to support local communities while protecting fragile ecosystems. As such, they hold the potential to significantly contribute to sustainable development initiatives globally.
Subject Terms
Biosphere reserves
- DATE: Developed 1974; revised 1995
The biosphere reserve network is an international conservation initiative under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) program on Man and the Biosphere (MAB). It designates legally protected mosaics of ecological systems.
Background
Although the original concept of was first discussed in 1968 at UNESCO’s Biosphere Conference, it did not become a formal designation until 1974, when UNESCO developed the biosphere reserve designation under the MAB program. The biosphere reserve designation was intended to set aside combinations of terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems for conversation and management to maintain biodiversity. Unlike many systems, the biosphere reserve system is specifically intended to encourage research into and implementation of sustainable human use of resources. The biosphere reserve network was launched in 1976 and grew rapidly. In 1983, the First International Biosphere Reserve Congress in Minsk, Belarus, gave rise in 1984 to an Action Plan for Biosphere Reserves.
The program was significantly revised in 1995 at the International Conference on Biosphere Reserves in Seville, Spain, when the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) was established. The Madrid Action Plan agreed upon at the Third World Congress of Biosphere Reserves in 2008 built further upon the Seville Strategy.
According to UNESCO, there were 759 biosphere reserves in 136 countries, as of 2024. Biosphere reserves consist of a core, conservation-only zone, a buffer zone that allows certain ecologically sound practices, and a transition zone where sustainable resource use is permitted within the parameters of international agreements such as Agenda 21 and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Reserves are nominated to the WNBR by national governments according to a set of criteria and conditions. Many biosphere reserves overlap with other types of protected areas, such as national parks and UNESCO World Heritage sites. In the United States, for example, many biosphere reserves are under the management of the US National Park Service. These include Big Bend National Park, Denali National Park, Glacier National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Virgin Islands National Park, and Isle Royale National Park, among others.
The United States, China, Russia, and Spain have the largest number of biosphere reserves. Some reserves cross international borders. While nearly all reserves follow the three-zone scheme, they are managed in a wide variety of ways and with varying conformation to the guidelines set out by UNESCO.
Provisions
The MAB has three main objectives: to contribute to minimizing loss, to promote environmental through the WNBR, and to enhance linkages between cultural and biological diversity. Under the first objective, the program focuses on a broad interdisciplinary research agenda examining the ecological, social, and economic impacts of biodiversity loss. Along with this, a network of learning centers for integrated management was developed.
In specific biosphere reserve contexts, emphasis is placed on linkages between biodiversity conservation and socioeconomic development. These strengthen knowledge of environmental sustainability, including the sustainable use of natural resources for local communities.
Finally, the program provides special attention to cultural landscapes and sacred sites, particularly biosphere reserves and World Heritage sites. It seeks to establish a knowledge base on cultural practices and traditions that involve local-level sustainable use of biodiversity in biosphere reserves.
Biosphere reserves are used to test new approaches to managing nature and human activities, connecting conservation, development, research, monitoring, and education. The core area or areas are traditional conservation areas for preserving biodiversity, monitoring minimally disturbed ecosystems, conducting nondestructive research, and other low-impact uses. The core areas are surrounded by a buffer zone, which is used more extensively for environmental education, ecotourism, and a wider range of research. Finally, this is surrounded by a flexible transition area, which may include settlements and agricultural activities. In the transition area, local communities work with management agencies, scientists, and others to develop and manage resources with the intention of sustainability.
The Seville Strategy for Biosphere Reserves, outlined in 1995, has as its objectives to improve the coverage of natural and cultural biodiversity (I.1), to integrate biosphere reserves into conservation planning (I.2), to secure the support and involvement of local people (II.1), to ensure better harmonization and interaction among different biosphere reserve zones (II.2), to integrate biosphere reserves into regional planning (II.3), to improve knowledge of interactions between humans and the biosphere (III.1), to improve monitoring activities (III.2), to improve education, public awareness, and involvement (III.3), to improve training for specialists and managers (III.4), to integrate the functions of biosphere reserves (IV.1), and to strengthen the WNBR (IV.2). The three goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity are to conserve biodiversity, to use its components sustainably, and to share equitably the benefits related to genetic resources.
Impact on Resource Use
The WNBR has played a major role in encouraging and supporting sustainable development and agriculture initiatives as well as in encouraging conservation projects that protect natural resources. The Madrid Action Plan of 2008 aims to make biosphere reserves the principal internationally designated areas dedicated to sustainable development. Socioeconomic development is a key function of transition areas.
At the Fourth World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas, held in 1992 in Caracas, Venezuela, many managers of protected areas adopted practices similar to those used for the biosphere reserve network. Biosphere reserve use ranges from sustainable agriculture and subsistence hunting to tourism, and conservation practices can enhance those uses. For example, the Hawaiian Islands biosphere reserve (which encompasses Haleakala and Hawaii Volcanoes National Parks) has been a key part of initiatives to remove nonnative species such as feral pigs and the extremely invasive velvet tree (Miconia calvescens). Protecting Hawaii’s unique and fragile ecosystem is important not only for science and biodiversity but also for Hawaii’s tourism industry.
Another example of common biosphere reserve activities can be found in the North Norfolk Coast Biosphere Reserve in the United Kingdom. In addition to tourism, environmental education, and scientific research, this reserve supports cultivation of cereals and sugar beets, harvesting of shellfish, and some commercial shore-netting. Sarali Lands Between Rivers Biosphere Reserve in Russia allows traditional activities such as plant gathering, fishing, and haymaking and a variety of sustainable forestry and agriculture activities in the buffer zone, including beekeeping and hunting. More than sixteen hundred people live in this region.
Most biosphere reserves have not achieved the ideal goals of sustainable resource use but are viewed as a tool to encourage sustainable resource use and development in the future. Managers hope that through sustainable resource use, ecotourism, and ecologically based industries, local living standards can be raised while preserving ecological biodiversity. In some reserves, efforts have already made significant change. For example, the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve in the San Andrés archipelago was developed by local communities to emphasize ecotourism and revive traditional subsistence agriculture and artisanal fishing. These efforts help protect the fragile coral reefs from threats from poorly planned urban development, mass tourism, and other issues.
However, not all biosphere reserves have been successful in protecting the core areas from illegal activities such as poaching. This is a particular concern in countries facing political instability and widespread poverty. For example, Volcans Biosphere Reserve in Rwanda faces expanding agricultural areas, poaching of gorillas, illegal wood and bamboo cutting, and overgrazing.
Also, application of the biosphere reserve framework has not been equally successful in all countries. For example, the biosphere reserve designation in Russia is largely a formality, and Russian biosphere reserves function very similarly to regular scientific nature reserves (zapovedniks) in that there is very little human use of resources.
Because of the international nature of the biosphere reserves and the variance in local management, the biosphere reserve designation forms a loose guideline or goal implemented in many different ways and with differing degrees of success. However, its focus on integrating conservation, science, education, and sustainable resource use is notable and has produced a valuable knowledge base for future efforts toward sustainable development.
Bibliography
"Eleven New Biosphere Reserves Added to Global List." UNESCO, 5 July 2024, news.un.org/en/story/2024/07/1151806. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.
Hadley, Malcolm, et al. Biosphere Reserves: Special Places for People and Nature. Paris: UNESCO, 2002.
Mose, Ingo. Protected Areas and Regional Development in Europe: Towards a New Model for the Twenty-first Century. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2007.
Peine, John D. Ecosystem Management for Sustainability: Principles and Practices Illustrated by a Regional Biosphere Reserve Cooperative. Boca Raton, Fla.: Lewis, 1999.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Man and the Biosphere Series. Park Ridge, N.J.: Parthenon, 1989- .
U.S. National Committee for Man and the Biosphere. Biosphere Reserves in Action: Case Studies of the American Experience. [Washington, D.C.]: The Program, [1995].