1st Edition
UNESCO Biosphere Reserves Supporting Biocultural Diversity, Sustainability and Society
UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BRs) are designated areas in geographical regions of global socio-ecological significance. This definitive book shows their global relevance and contribution to environmental protection, biocultural diversity and education.
Initiated in the 1970s as part of UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme, BRs share a set of common objectives, to support and demonstrate a balance between biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and research. The world’s 701 BRs form an international, intergovernmental network to support the aims of sustainability science, but this purpose has not always been widely understood. In three distinct sections, the book starts by outlining the origins of BRs and the MAB Programme, showing how they contribute to advancing sustainable development. The second section documents the evolution of BRs around the world, including case studies from each of the five UNESCO world regions. Each case study demonstrates how conservation, sustainable development and the role of scientific research have been interpreted locally. The book concludes by discussing thematic lessons to help understand the challenges and opportunities associated with sustainability science, providing a unique platform from which lessons can be learned. This includes how concepts become actions on the ground and how ideas can be taken up across sites at differing scales.
This book will be of great interest to professionals engaged in conservation and sustainable development, NGOs, policy-makers and advanced students in environmental management, ecology, sustainability science, environmental anthropology and geography.
1. Introducing UNESCO Biosphere Reserves
Maureen G. Reed and Martin F. Price
Part I: Conceptual and Practical Foundations of the International Man and Biosphere Programme
2. Conceptual Origins and First-Generation Biosphere Reserves
Maureen G. Reed
3. Biosphere Reserves from Seville, 1995 to 2030: A Global Network of Sites of Excellence to Address Regional and Global Imperatives
Meriem Bouamrane, Peter Dogsé, and Martin F. Price
Part II: Translation and Transitions: The Changing Practices of Biosphere Reserves
4. The Mexican Biosphere Reserves: Landscape and Sustainability
Sergio Guevara Sada
5. The Chilean Biosphere Reserves Network as a Model for Sustainability?: Challenges Towards Regenerative Development, Education, Biocultural Ethics and Eco-social Peace
Andrés Moreira-Muñoz, Francisca Carvajal, Sergio Elórtegui and Ricardo Rozzi
6. Perspectives on Growth and Change in Canada’s 18 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves
Pamela Shaw, Monica Shore, Eleanor Haine Bennett and Maureen G. Reed
7. The Evolution of Biosphere Reserves in the United Kingdom
Martin F. Price
8. Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Development in Biosphere Reserves: Analyzing the Knowledge Used to Establish Swedish Biosphere Reserves
Tomas Kjellqvist, Romina Rodela and Kari Lehtilä
9. The French Biosphere Reserves: Looking for Ecological Solidarity and Stewardship
Raphaël Mathevet and Catherine Cibien
10. The More Institutional Models, the More Challenges: Biosphere Reserves in the Czech Republic
Jan Tesitel and Drahomira Kusova
11. Sense and Sustainability: The Story of Biosphere Reserves in Lebanon
Diane A. Matar and Brandon P. Anthony
12. Adapting to Socio-ecological Pressures Using Sustainability Science in Egyptian Biosphere Reserves
Boshra Salem and Caroline King-Okumu
13. Sustainability at the Centres of Origin: Lessons from UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Ethiopia
Tadesse Woldemariam Gole, Svane Bender, Rolf D. Sprung, Solomon Kebede, Teowdroes Kassahun, Alemayehu Negussie, Kerya Yasin and Motuma Tafa
14. Innovative Implementation of the UNESCO MAB Programme in South Africa: Towards the Advancement of Sustainable Landscapes
Ruida Pool-Stanvliet and Kaera Coetzer-Hanack
15. Transdisciplinary Approaches for the Reactivation of Japanese Biosphere Reserves
Hiroyuki Matsuda, Shinsuke Nakamura and Tetsu Sato
16. Biosphere Reserves in Vietnam: Management Challenges
Van Cuong Chu, Peter Dart, Nguyen Manh Ha, Vo Thi Minh Le and Marc Hockings
17. Man and the Biosphere Programme in China: Sustaining the Community of Life over Four Decades
Wang Ding and Han Qunli
18. The Four Stages of Biosphere Reserves in Australia: A Retro- and Prospective
Peter Bridgewater
Part III: Lessons for Sustainability Science and Sustainability in Practice
19. Integrating Science and Local Knowledge to Strengthen Biosphere Reserve Management
Marc Hockings, Ian Lilley, Diane Matar, Nigel Dudley and Rob Markham
20. Biosphere Reserves, Ideal Sites to Implement Holistic Approaches in Regenerative Development
Tania Moreno and Eduard Müller
21. Co-creation of Sustainable Development Knowledge in Biosphere Reserves
Miren Onaindia, Cristina Herero, Alberto Hernández, José Vicente de Lucio, Antonio Pou, Juana Barber, Tomás Rueda, Bernardo Varela, Benedicta Rodríges and Aquilino Miguélez
22. Implementation of Social-ecological Management Approaches in Biosphere Reserves in the Mediterranean Basin
Mario Torralba, María García-Martín, Cristina Quintas-Soriano, Franziska Wolpert and Tobias Plieninger
23. Participatory Learning for Transdisciplinary Science in Biosphere Regions: A Modified Role for Universities
Heike Walk, Vera Luthardt and Benjamin Noelting
24. Embracing Cultures in Ecosystem Governance in Biosphere Reserves: Slowing Down the Pace
Liette Vasseur
25. Unfinished Business: The Present and Future Contributions of Biosphere Reserves to Sustainability Science
Maureen G. Reed and Martin F. Price
Index
Biography
Maureen G. Reed is Professor and Assistant Director of the School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Canada. She is UNESCO (co)-Chair in Biocultural Diversity, Sustainability, Reconciliation and Renewal.
Martin F. Price is Professor and Director of the Centre for Mountain Studies, Perth College, University of the Highlands and Islands, UK. Since 2009 he has held the UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Mountain Development.
"A much needed publication about the relevance of Biosphere Reserves as nature-based solutions that implement emerging and key concepts for our planetary challenges – such as governance and cultural practices for ecosystem management – in a continuous search for ecosystem resilience." - Angela Andrade, Chair, Commission on Ecosystem Management, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
"An excellent publication show-casing the role of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves as learning laboratories for sustainable development at a global level by linking cultural diversity to biological diversity for the well-being for humankind, including conflict prevention and management of biodiversity." - Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO
"A must-read for anyone interested in Biosphere Reserves – the first book ever with an international perspective on this innovative concept and its evolving applications to the practices and science of biodiversity conservation, climate change and sustainability." - Lisen Schultz, Research fellow at Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden
"Maureen Reed and Martin Price, two recognized experts with many years of expertise in the field of BRs, have now edited a comprehensive book to which more than 60 authors, a who’s who of the MAB community so to say, have contributed – a volume which deserves to be seen as a new standard in the field of UNESCO BRs." — Günter Köck, eco.mont, Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management, Volume 12, Number 2
"This book brings together a wide range of knowledge and experiences from many different authors that will be of interest to researchers and practitioners alike. It shows how biosphere reserves have evolved from a main focus on conservation and natural science toward a transdisciplinary endeavor that aspires to promote local participation and inclusiveness. It not only demonstrates that there has never been a shortage of obstacles, but also encourages and inspires to continue this worthwhile struggle for more sustainable places in our world." — Jan Hanspach, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany
