Bioreserve

BIORESERVES, also known as BIOSPHERE reserves, are an internationally recognized type of conservation reserve. In 1970, the 16th General Conference of UNESCO (part of the United Nations), acting on the recommendations of the conference, launched the long-term intergovernmental and interdisciplinary program known as Man and the Biosphere (MAB). Crucial for the program was a project for the conservation of natural areas and of the genetic material they contain, which included the development of a coordinated worldwide network of protected areas, linked by international understanding on purposes, and standards, and exchange of scientific information.

These include biosphere reserves that contained representative land and coastal areas of each of the major or otherwise relevant ECOSYSTEMS within a nation’s boundaries. The biospheres could be used as basic logistical resources for research, as areas for education and training, and as essential components for the study of many projects under the overall program, including a role of benchmarks or standards for measurement of long-term changes in the biosphere as a whole.

In the design of criteria for the identification of biosphere reserves, special attention was paid to the embodiment of ecological and genetic principles of nature conservation, and thus the shape and size of reserves were considered important. In addition, criteria were determined for establishing a network of baseline monitoring stations in representative undisturbed biome areas throughout the world to serve as benchmarks or standards for assessing change. Unlike many other forms of conservation reserve, biosphere reserves are intended to not only include natural ecosystems within national parks and wilderness areas but also seminatural systems, including, for instance, those maintained by long-established land-use practice. 

Each biosphere reserve should include one or more of the following categories: representative examples of natural biomes; unique communities or areas with unusual natural features of exceptional interest; examples of harmonious landscapes resulting from traditional patterns of land use; and examples of modified or degraded ecosystems capable of being restored to more natural conditions. Each biosphere reserve should be large enough to be an effective conservation unit with long-term legal protection and to accommodate different uses without conflict. In some cases biosphere reserves coincide with or incorporate existing or proposed protected areas, such as national parks, sanctuaries, or nature reserves.