Benefits of biosphere reserves

Benefits of biosphere reserves:

The biosphere reserve concept can be used as a framework to guide and reinforce projects to enhance people’s livelihoods and ensure environmental sustainability. UNESCO’s recognition can serve to highlight and reward such individual efforts. The designation of a site as a biosphere reserve can raise awareness among local people, citizens and government authorities on environmental and development issues. It can help to attract additional funding from different sources. At the national level, biosphere reserves can serve as pilot sites or ‘learning places’ to explore and demonstrate approaches to conservation and sustainable development , providing lessons which can be applied elsewhere . In addition, they are a concrete means for countries to implement Agenda 21, the convention of Biological Diversity (for example the Ecosystem Approach), many Millennium Development Goals (for example on environmental sustainability), and the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. In the case of large natural areas which straddle national boundaries, trans-boundary biosphere reserves can be established jointly by the countries concerned, testifying to long- term cooperative efforts.

Management of Biosphere Reserves:

UNESCO does not require any change in law or ownership: each biosphere reserve has its own system of governance to ensure it meets its functions and objectives. The management system of a biosphere reserve needs to be open, evolving and adaptive in order for the local community to better respond to external political economic and social pressures, which would affect the ecological and cultural values of the area. Hence it is necessary to set up an appropriate governance mechanism, for instance a committee or board, to plan and co-ordinate all the activities of all the actors concerned, each within their own mandate and competence. Usually a biosphere reserve coordinator is named as the contact person for all matters dealing with the biosphere reserve.