UNESCO Biosphere Reserves are geographical regions of global socio-ecological significance, they are designated within UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Programme forming an international, intergovernmental network. This book shows their global relevance and outlines lessons learned about biocultural diversity, sustainability, and society.
UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BRs) are designated areas in geographical regions of global socio-ecological significance. This definitive book shows their global relevance and contribution to environmental protection, biocultural diversity and education.
Initiated in the 1970s as part of UNESCO's Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme, BRs share a set of common objectives, to support and demonstrate a balance between biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and research. The world's 701 BRs form an international, intergovernmental network to support the aims of sustainability science, but this purpose has not always been widely understood. In three distinct sections, the book starts by outlining the origins of BRs and the MAB Programme, showing how they contribute to advancing sustainable development. The second section documents the evolution of BRs around the world, including case studies from each of the five UNESCO world regions. Each case study demonstrates how conservation, sustainable development and the role of scientific research have been interpreted locally. The book concludes by discussing thematic lessons to help understand the challenges and opportunities associated with sustainability science, providing a unique platform from which lessons can be learned. This includes how concepts become actions on the ground and how ideas can be taken up across sites at differing scales.
This book will be of great interest to professionals engaged in conservation and sustainable development, NGOs, policy-makers and advanced students in environmental management, ecology, sustainability science, environmental anthropology and geography.
"A much needed publication about the relevance of Biosphere Reserves as nature-based solutions that implement emerging and key concepts for our planetary challenges - such as governance and cultural practices for ecosystem management - in a continuous search for ecosystem resilience." - Angela Andrade, Chair, Commission on Ecosystem Management, International Union for the Conservationof Nature (IUCN)
"An excellent publication show-casing the role of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves as learning laboratories for sustainable development at a global level by linking cultural diversity to biological diversity for the well-being for humankind, including conflict prevention and management of biodiversity." - Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO
"A must-read for anyone interested in Biosphere Reserves - the first book ever with an international perspective on this innovative concept and its evolving applications to the practices and science of biodiversity conservation, climate change and sustainability." - Lisen Schultz, Research fellow at Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden
"Maureen Reed and Martin Price, two recognized experts with many years of expertise in the field of BRs, have now edited a comprehensive book to which more than 60 authors, a who's who of the MAB community so to say, have contributed - a volume which deserves to be seen as a new standard in the field of UNESCO BRs." - Günter Köck, eco.mont,Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management, Volume 12, Number 2
