MAN AND BIOSPHERE (MAB) PROGRAMME DESIGNATES NEW BIOSPERE RESERVES

Paris, November 9 (No.2000-112) - Twenty-one new biosphere reserves located in fifteen different countries around the world were officially designated today as Biosphere Reserves belonging to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves which now consists of 391 sites in ninety-four countries.

The sites were designated by the International Co-ordinating Council of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme which is currently meeting at Organization Headquarters.

The newly approved sites include: the Pantanal (Brazil), one of the word’s greatest inland freshwater wetlands, where cattle farmers are engaging new economic activities with the development of ecotourism; the San Andrés Archipelago (Colombia) covering some 10% of the Caribbean Sea which is facing a huge challenge in seeking to develop and conserve its rich marine resources; the Nilgiri in the Western Ghats (India), with remnant forests with exceptionally high animal and plant diversity surrounded by areas of intense human activity; the Oases of South Morocco with ancient irrigated palm groves forming a bastion against the advance of the Sahara desert; and Cape West Coast, just north of Cape Town, (South Africa) an example of bioregional planning from the mountains to the sea.

Biosphere reserves are chosen on the strength of their ability to reconcile the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of biological resources. This far-sighted concept was initiated by UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme in the 1970s. Today, it is more relevant than ever as countries seek to meet their international obligations to multilateral environmental agreements stemming from the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Biosphere reserves are nominated by Member States after a process of consultation and co-ordination with government agencies, local communities, NGOs and private interests with a stake in the areas concerned. They remain fully under the sovereign jurisdiction of their countries. Local participation and co-ordination of different local activities are prime challenges in the management of the reserves.

The advantages enjoyed by sites designated as biosphere reserves include: official United Nations recognition of local and national efforts to promote conservation and sustainable development; a “label of excellence” which is helpful in securing additional funding; membership in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves which facilitates exchanges of experience and research results.

UNESCO’s intergovernmental MAB Programme fosters co-operative research, training and education on the relationship between people and their environment. It is governed by an International Coordination Council of 34 countries which meets every two years.

The list of biosphere reserves approved by the MAB Council during its current session are given below and more information on the MAB Programme is available on www.unesco.org/mab:

Delta del Paraná (Argentina); Riacho Teuquito (Argentina); Grosses Walsertal (Austria); Pantanal (Brazil); Cerrado (extension to include Phase II) (Brazil); Lac Saint-Pierre (Canada); Mount Arrowsmith (Canada); Gaoligong Mountain (China); Baishuijiang (China); Huanglong (China); Seaflower/San Andrés Archipelago (Colombia); Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (Colombia); Sumaco (Ecuador); Nilgiri (India); Mount Mulanje (Malawi); Oasis du sud marocain (Morocco); Bosque Mbaracayú (Paraguay); Cape West Coast (South Africa); Somiedo (Spain); Muniellos (Spain); Bardenas Reales (Spain); East Usambara (Tanzania).

 

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