WORLD NETWORK OF BIOSPHERE RESERVES RECEIVES PRINCE OF ASTURIAS PRIZE FOR CONCORD 2001

Paris, October 25 (N°2001-115) – The World Network of Biosphere Reserves – presently 411 sites in 94 countries – will receive the prestigious Prince of Asturias Prize for Concord, during a ceremony on Friday, October 26, in Oviedo, Spain. The Prize is awarded to persons or institutions that have contributed to the brotherhood of mankind, to the defense of freedom, or to the conservation and protection of the heritage of humanity.

The World Network of Biosphere Reserves covers areas or territories which encompass terrestrial or coastal ecosystems, and are intended to reconcile biodiversity conservation with the rational use of biological resources.

The reserves are very diverse. Some of them are very well-known, such as France’s Fontainebleau, the Serengeti/Ngorongoro in Tanzania, and Vesuvius in Italy.

Distinguished amongst 37 entries from 22 countries, UNESCO’S World Network of Biosphere Reserves Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) will receive the Prince of Asturias Prize for Concord, tomorrow, in Oviedo, Spain. The prize consists of a US$25,000 grant, and a sculpture by Joan Miró. The Prince of Asturias Prize, one of the most prestigious in the Spanish-speaking world, is presented each year in eight areas (communication, social sciences, arts, letters, technology and scientific research, international co-operation, sports, and concord/understanding).

Previous recipients of the Prize for Concord, which was first presented in 1986, include the Royal Academy of Spain (2000), Doctors Without Borders (1991), the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in 1988.

“The Secretariat of the MAB is particularly delighted that the World Network of Biosphere Reserves was nominated for this prize by a local group, working inside one of the biosphere reserves. This illustrates the commitment of local communities to their own biosphere reserves, as well as the importance of the contribution of the World Network as a whole in improving the relationship between the inhabitants and nature,” declared Peter Bridgewater, Programme Secretary and Director of the Division of Ecological Sciences at UNESCO.

For many years, the creation of protected areas, national parks or reserves only aimed to protect fauna and flora – sometimes to the detriment of indigenous populations which were ignored or driven out. The Biosphere Reserves of the MAB Programme reflect another vision of nature conservation which is systematically inclusive of human participation, and which attempts to reconcile conservation with sustainable use of biological resources. Long before expressions such as “biodiversity” and “sustainable development” became popular, the first reserves were laying the groundwork in this direction. Some country have a significant number of biosphere reserves: The Russian Federation has 25; China, 21; Spain, 20; Germany, 13; Australia, 12; Mexico, 12; Argentina, 10; and France, 10. Moreover, it is not unusual for biosphere reserves to straddle the borders of two countries or more.

The World Network is composed of several regional networks, such as AfriMAB, IberoMAB, EuroMAB or ArabMAB. New reserves are named to the network each year: In September 2001, 18 new sites in 13 countries were added, and two previously-existing reserves were extended. Placing these biosphere reserves in a network is intended to encourage the exchange of information and experience, and to facilitate joint activities in the areas, such as scientific research, environmental education and the training of specialists. For example, the East Asian Network of Biosphere Reserves is developing co-operation among the people working in biosphere reserves in China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation.

The regional distribution of biosphere reserves throughout the world today is as follows: Africa, 42 sites in 21 countries; the Arab States, 13 reserves in 6 countries; Asia and the Pacific, 76 sites in 18 countries; Europe and North America, 216 reserves in 33 countries; Latin America and the Caribbean, 64 sites in 16 countries.

Biosphere reserves share some essential characteristics. They are areas with terrestrial and/or coastal ecosystems which fulfill three fundamental complementary and interactive functions: 1) conservation, to ensure the preservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and biological diversity; 2) development, to encourage sustainable economic development within the framework of local ecology, sociology, and culture; 3) logistic support, for research, continuous monitoring, training and education regarding conservation and development that can be applied at the local, regional and global levels.

Serving as experimental sites, all biosphere reserves feature three interdependent zones: a core area generally free of human activity; a buffer zone that surrounds, or is contiguous to, the core area and contributes to its protection; and finally, a transition area, where agricultural activities and/or human settlements exist and contribute to the region’s socio-economic development.

Different management systems are applied to each zone and to each type of ecosystem. These systems aim to involve numerous protagonists and users. In this way, farmers and livestock breeders are able to work alongside forestry managers, scientists and engineers, as they do in the Mananara  Reserve (Madagascar). They also attempt to strike a sometimes difficult balance between the different interests at stake.

The core areas of some biosphere reserves include sites of universal value, which meet the criteria of the World Heritage Convention, as is the case with the biosphere reserve of the Danube Delta in Romania, whose core areas - with a rich population of water fowl – have been listed as a World Heritage site. Similarly, the 25-million-hectare Pantanal Biosphere Reserve in Brazil contains 15 core areas, one of which is also a World Heritage site.                              

The Reserve Network was created in 1976 by UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB), an international programme of research, education, and dissemination of data concerning the biosphere. Launched in 1971, the MAB Programme operates through more than 100 national committees of scientists and decision-makers. Member States join the Programme on a voluntary basis. The project reflects the realization that human survival on Earth hinges on the rational exploitation of the planet’s resources. It seeks to establish a culture and a philosophy of harmony between man and his environment.

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More information and a complete list of Biosphere Reserves is available on the Web, at: www.unesco.org/mab