Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the 'improvement of relationships' between people and their environments.
The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas, known as biosphere or nature reserves, which are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature. They are created under the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB).
Valley of Flowers National Park is an Indian national park which was established in 1982. It is located in Chamoli in the state of Uttarakhand and is known for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and the variety of flora. This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, musk deer, brown bear, red fox and blue sheep. Birds found in the park include Himalayan monal pheasant and other high-altitude birds.
The Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve is a protected area in the La Mosquitia region on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. With a total area of 5,250 square kilometers (2,030 sq mi), most of the reserve runs along the Río Plátano. The reserve has a number of endangered species and some of the largest remnants of tropical forest in Central America. It has been a World Heritage Site and biosphere reserve since 1982. In 2011, UNESCO placed the reserve on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The Nokrek National Park, the core area of the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, is a National park located approximately 2 km away from Tura Peak in West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, India.The Nokrek Biosphere Reserve along with the Nokrek National Park was added by UNESCO to its list of Biosphere Reserves in May 2009. along with the Balpakram National Park in South Garo Hills. The Nokrek area is a hotspot of biodiversity in Meghalaya. Established in 1986, the National Park area comprising around 47.48 km2 (18.33 sq mi) is looked after by the Northern Nokrek Range and the Southern Nokrek Range under the East & West Garo Hills Wildlife Division of the Meghalaya State Forest Department, Government of Meghalaya.
The Golden Gate Biosphere Network is a voluntary coalition of federal, state and local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, universities, and private partners within the Golden Gate Biosphere region. The Network aims to protect the region's biodiversity and conserve its natural resources. The Network has been part of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme since 1988.GGBN is also part of the US Biosphere Network as well as EuroMAB. It is recognized by UNESCO for its "significance for biological diversity conversation" and organizational efforts involving municipal authorities and private interests.
The Rhön Biosphere Reserve includes the entire central area of the Rhön Mountains, a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia.
Cu Lao Cham Marine Park also known as Cham Islands Biosphere Reserve is part of the eight islets of the Chàm Islands, located in the South China Sea under the administration of Tân Hiệp Commune and Hội An town, in Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The terrestrial and coastal ecosystems of the islands have been recognized as a global Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO on 26 May 2009 under its 'Man and the Biosphere Programme' for its rich biodiversity value. The eco system also includes the ancient Hội An, which is 20 kilometres (12 mi) away from the islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kogelberg Nature Reserve is a nature reserve of 3,000 ha comprising the Kogelberg Mountain Range, to the east of Cape Town, South Africa.
Mongol Daguur is a steppe and wetland region in Mongolia listed as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar Site of International Importance. A transboundary ecoregion straddling three countries, the area is located in Dornod Province of eastern Mongolia, and is contiguous with the Daurian ecoregion in Russia and the Hulun Lake wetlands in China. The area is categorized as a Strictly Protected Area within the framework of protected areas in Mongolia.
The Fundy Biosphere Region is an area of rugged woodlands and coastline that lies along next the upper Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada. The area covers 442,250 hectares, and was named and designated as a biosphere reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2007.
Biosphere reserves are established according to the UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) to promote sustainable development for conservation of biological and cultural diversity. As of 2016, the Lal Suhanra Biosphere Reserve and Ziarat Juniper Forest are the only two biosphere reserve in Pakistan, which were approved by UNESCO in 1977 and 2013 respectively. A number of initiatives and projects have been undertaken to promote and develop other biosphere reserves in Pakistan but due to weak implementation this has not yet been materialized. In July 2012, Pakistan Museum of Natural History and Beijing Museum of Natural History signed a MoU to work on trans-boundary biodiversity and to improve MAB related activities in the Karakoram, Himalaya, and Hindukush regions.
The Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located in southeastern Ontario, Canada. The biosphere reserve was designated in 2002, and is one of 16 biosphere reserves in Canada. The Frontenac Arch Biosphere operates primarily within a 2,700 km2. region from Brockville to Kingston, extending north to Verona and Perth.
The Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve is situated in Illubabor Zone of the Oromia Regional State, southwestern Ethiopia.
Dalnevostochny Morskoy Nature Reserve is Russia's first marine reserve, covering large portions of the sea and 30 islands in Peter the Great Gulf, on the west side of the Sea of Japan. It has the highest class of environmental protection as a federal 'zapovednik'. There are four distinct areas with different biological and protection regimes, covering 63,000 ha (240 sq mi) of sea area, additional land on included islands, a 500-meter conservation strip of coastline along the marine area, and a conservation buffer zone inland to a width of 3 miles. The reserve is situated on the continental coast south of Vladivostok in the Russian Far East. The administrative district is Khasansky District of Primorsky Krai. It was formally established in 1978. The reserve is part of the UNESCO "Far East Reserve" MAB Biosphere Reserve, noted for its protection of marine biodiversity, and as a re-population area for open seas fisheries.
The Redberry Lake Biosphere Region was established in 2000 as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve covering 112,200 hectares in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. In 2019, the reserve expanded to become a region including the Redberry Lake watershed and surrounding land encompassing close to 700,000 hectares of land. The regional landscape is composed of rolling prairie dotted with seasonal ponds and marshes along with aspen/shrub groves. The core area is Redberry Lake, a saline lake with several islands. The lake is also an Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada. There are small patches of natural mixed prairie which are very rare in this highly grazed and cultivated part of the prairies. The Redberry Lake Biosphere Region is committed to balancing conservation with sustainable development.
The Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve is located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa approximately 40 km (25 mi) east of Cape Town. The Biosphere Reserve extends from the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve in the south, northwards along the Cape Fold Belt Mountain Chain and the adjoining valleys constituting the Cape Winelands. The Biosphere Reserve incorporates key portions of the registered Cape Floral Region Protected Areas World Heritage Site. The Reserve was designated in 2007.
The Lake Manyara Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the depression of the East African Rift Valley in the Lake Manyara Basin in Arusha Region of northern Tanzania. The reserve is managed by Tanzanian Lake Manyara National Park.
A protected area mosaic, or conservation mosaic is a collection of environmentally protected areas that are treated as a whole, either formally or informally. The protected areas may be of different types, including strictly protected areas and sustainable use areas, which may be administered at different public levels or privately. They may include areas assigned to indigenous people. A mosaic may be more flexible and effective than an attempt to combine all the areas into a single conservation unit under one agency. In practice, results with mosaics in different countries have been mixed.
The Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve, or Mata Atlântica Biosphere Reserve, is a biosphere reserve covering remnants of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, including fully protected and sustainable use conservation units and buffer zones. It is the largest such reserve in the world.
