Man and the Biosphere Program (UNESCO)

The man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) is a network of biosphere reserves that are nominated by national governments and designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It was established in 1971, with the first reserves coming into the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 1976. The World Network of Biosphere Reserves is the only intergovernmental network whose objectives lie in meeting sustainable development, conservation, and scientific cooperation. The delay in official designation was due to the need for the MAB Coordinating Council to define the procedures of designating biosphere reserves, as well as deciding what the overall objectives and characteristics of the program were.

This scheme was initiated by UNESCO as a follow-up program to the International Biological Program. Unlike its predecessor, the Man and the Biosphere Program was intended to unite the biological information resulting from the International Biological Program and other complementary sources with social science and policy analyses. The purpose of this was to make the resulting knowledge of practical use to policy makers at various levels from municipal to international. In practice, it has taken time to incorporate social science into the framework.

Many nations nominated areas to be biosphere reserves from the outset, often choosing preexisting national parks or other types of protected areas. A significant number of reserves in some nations were recognized in that first round of nominations. For example, the United States received recognition for 27 of the 47 Man and the Biosphere Reserves. Today there are 507 Man and the Biosphere Reserves in 102 countries.

Fourteen program areas were originally designated in order to promote policy-orientated research, synthesis, and comparison. These included studying specific biomes and ecosystems, such as tropical forests, arid lands, and high latitudes. There were also cross-cutting themes such as perception of environmental quality and grazing lands. Most significant was the theme “Conservation for Natural Areas and the Genetic Materials Contained Therein,” from which the term biosphere reserve itself originated.

Nations nominate areas to be designated as a Man and the Biosphere Reserve. This is done through MAB National Committees, whose designation, organization, and composition varies depending on the individual country. UNESCO reviews nominations and provides the designation as a biosphere reserve. It also facilitates the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. UNESCO provides expertise and occasionally funding to design and implement projects concerning biosphere reserves. In general, though, individual biosphere reserves within the program are expected to find principal funding from sources other than UNESCO, whether they be municipal, national, private, or from business.

The prestige of being designated as a Man and the Biosphere Reserve in developing areas is particularly significant in terms of tourism marketing. National and international tourists have been documented to travel to areas primarily on the basis of the designation. Other draws are often the perception of an ecotouristic experience. UNESCO's management of the system has, however, come under criticism for not revoking the designation in cases where human rights infringements are alleged. Such was the case for the Danube Delta Man and the Biosphere Reserve. This is a transnational biosphere reserve shared by the Ukraine and Romania. The Romanian government sold off the fishing rights to large sections of the Danube Delta to private owners, whose rights supersede those of local people. The claims of local people to traditional fishing grounds and seasonal habitations within the Danube Delta are under question, with the continuity of both extending into prehistory. The case has been protested by activists and academics.

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