Biosphere reserves in the mountains of the world and their standing after 40 years of UNESCO’s MAB Programme

Abstract

Since 1976, 564 biosphere reserves have been established all over the world; almost two thirds of them are located in mountain areas. They contribute to biodiversity conservation in fragile ecosystems and come up with regionally adapted solutions for a sustainable development of the respective regions. However, there is still a gap between vision and reality. Many of them do not fulfil the UNESCO criteria defined in the Statutory Framework and exist merely as paper parks. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of UNESCO’s MAB Programme, good as well as critical examples of mountain biosphere reserves were collected to highlight the important role they play as sites for international scientific collaboration, biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. The findings of almost 50 international authors have been gathered in the publication Biosphere Reserves in the Mountains of the World – Excellence in the Clouds? published by the Austrian Academy of Sciences in February 2011. Some of the results are summarized and presented in this article.