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An important step forward to carry-out this investigation was the
establishment in year 2000 of the MAB ad hoc Working Group to Explore
the Application of the Biosphere Reserve Concept to Urban Areas
and their Hinterlands (the MAB Urban Group). Its objectives
are:
- To identify contributions that the biosphere reserve concept
has made or could make in urban planning and management, including
in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity with
its focus on the ecosystem approach
- To examine if there is, or should be, a place for urban areas
and cities in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (beyond
as transition areas)
- To explore alternative ways and means of recognizing selected
cities, or parts thereof, as sites that exemplify the biosphere
reserve model
- To stimulate a discussion within MAB and with relevant partner
institutions and organizations, on the development of an agenda
for possible future MAB activities in this area
A limited number of Biosphere Reserves have
been established just outside major cities
Examples include:
The biosphere reserve concept is evolving and
its model for sustainability is increasingly popular
The World Network of Biosphere Reserves
is the major instrument for promoting biodiversity conservation
and sustainable development within UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere
Programme (MAB).
Having evolved from traditional protected area
approaches, in particular national parks, the biosphere reserve
concept and the World Network have usually been associated with
more pristine, scarcely populated environments than what urban areas
and their hinterlands offer.
However, the biosphere reserve concept is an evolving
one and, following the Seville Conference and the adoption of the
Seville Strategy, more emphasis
is now put on sustainable development objectives and on more large
scale, regional, conservation and development concerns.
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