• International seminar “Green Belt of Fennoscandia: Status and Visions”
  
• Bridging Science and Society EuroMAB 2007
  
• EuroMAB 2007 Outcomes

  The meeting of EuroMAB 2007 entitled "Bridging Science and Society - EuroMAB 2007" was held in Antalya (Turkey) from 12-16 November 2007. More than 120 participants attended from 28 countries. The meeting focused on how to enhance linkages between Science and Society, using the experience of the 254 biosphere reserves in the 33 countries making up the EuroMAB Network as learning and sharing sites for sustainable development.

  Five thematic sessions were organized:
  - Thematic issue 1: How to use biosphere reserve as learning sites for sustainable development and what contributions to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development?
  - Thematic issue 2: How to enhance the capacity of biosphere reserve to mitigate/abate and adapt to climate change?
  - Thematic issue 3: How does zonation of a biosphere reserve contribute to sustainable development?
  - Thematic issue 4: How to better reach and capture the economic and social benefits of biosphere reserves?
  - Thematic issue 5: How can biosphere reserves deal with environmental transformations such as urbanization and in-/out migration?

  EuroMAB 2007 defined a EuroMAB Action Plan, which will finalized and discussed during the next meting of the EuroMAB Network, which will be held during the 3rd World Congress of Biosphere Reserves in Madrid, Spain on 4- 9 February 2008. More

• Biosphere Reserves and Extensions (2007)

  Manicouagan Uapishka, Canada lies between the Saint Laurent River in the South and the Manicouagan reservoir in the north which is visible from the space as a circle eye in the Québec province. Baie-Comeau is the biggest city in the site with 22,613 inhabitants. Numerous rivers are linking the territory. Mining was one of the main activities in the past in this highly forested area. An in-depth participatory process led to a shared vision for sustainable development for the region. The site is also used as a platform for integrating activities across UNESCO’s intergovernmental scientific programmes.

• News on this Biosphere Reserve in French - Objectif plein jour (blog) - Le lézard

Fundy, Canada is located on the New Brunswick side of the upper most part of the bay. Some of the earliest colonial settlements in North America occurred in this region. Artefacts from previous aboriginal generations that inhabited this Bay of Fundy region date back more than 6,000 years. The total area is 432,000 hectares, of which 9,940 hectares of estuarine coastal habitat, with a very diverse topography, which ranges from towering cliffs to broad sweeping salt marshes at the head of the bay. The stakeholder group called ‘Fundy Biosphere Regional Network’ is providing innovative practices for sustainable development.

Corvo Island, Portugal it is the smallest of the Azorean Islands situated in the extreme northwest of the archipelago, off the coast of Portugal. The island is the emerged part of a volcanic cone (rising 718 meters above sea level) that dominates and shapes the landscape, creating diversified morphology that supports many endemic species. The biosphere reserve includes the island’s entire emerged land mass and surrounding marine area. Long-time agriculture and cattle breeding have produced a man-made landscape of high cultural significance. The execution of novel management strategies and the local population’s willingness to participate in experimental community resource management make Corvo Island an exceptional place for research. Graciosa Island, Portugal the site is located in the Azores archipelago off the coast of Portugal and encompasses the entire island and surrounding marine area.

Graciosa Island, Portugal is exceptionally geo-diverse; the central volcano (Caldeira) is distinguished by slag and spatter cones, surtseyan cones, basaltic lava flows, sub-volcanic forms, volcanic depressions, caves and algares (gas originated domes). The biosphere reserve includes coastal habitats and evergreen forests and is home to numerous species of endemic birds, bats, molluscs, and arthropods. Agriculture, wine production, and cattle farming are the traditional livelihoods of the inhabitants of this culturally diverse island. Its mild climate, thermal springs, and beautiful landscapes give Graciosa high potential for eco or cultural tourism.

Rio Eo, Oscos y Terras de Buron, Spain the site is located in northwestern Spain on the scenic Cantabrian coastline between Asturias and Galicia. The Biosphere Reserve encompasses four distinct landscape units: the estuary and mouth of the Eo River, the Cantabrian coastline, fluvial channels, and the Cantabrian mountain range. The Eo River estuary is an internationally recognized wetland under the RAMSAR treaty and has sustainable development initiatives for its rational use. Livestock, forestry, and tourism are currently the area’s principle economic activities.

Extensions

Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve (former Canadian Thousand Islands - Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve) This biosphere reserve (formerly the Canadian Thousand Islands - Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve) named after the intrepid explorer and settlement founder, Count Frontenac, is an area of 2,214 square kilometres. It celebrates a continental scale landform: the Frontenac Arch, which enables the movement of flora and fauna through the natural barrier created by the Great Lakes - St Lawrence River. The area has redefined its boundary to include, in addition to the two core protected areas (St. Lawrence Islands National Park and Charleston Lake Provincial) a third core protected area, Frontenac Provincial Park, which represents a 30% increase of the total core area as well as the Township of South Frontenac.

Great Volzhsko-Kamsky Biosphere Reserve after the designation in 2005 of the Raifa Biosphere reserve and the Sarali Land Between Rivers biosphere reserve, two additional units Spassky and Sviyazhsky are now completing this ‘riverscape’ biosphere reserve along the Volga River, close to the historic city of Kazan in the Republic of Tatarstan at the northern end of the Kuibishev Reservoir, the largest reservoir of Europe. The Spassky unit include the refuge Spassky which includes 64 islands and shallowlands of Kuibishev Reservoir. The other unit contains the nature refuge Sviazhsky, comprising valley and fresh-water ecosystems of the mouth part of Sviyaga river (tributary of Volga), islands, gulfs and bypasses. The total surface is now 151,468 ha. The Biosphere reserve is cooperating with the FlusslandschaftElbe Biosphere Reserve in Germany.

• Biosphere Reserves
  • Inauguration of Wienerwald Biosphere Reserve in Austria by Mr Walter Erdelen, Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences (pdf)
  • Mont Saint Hilaire New Website (Canada)