Global assessment of recent UNESCO Biosphere Reserve quality enhancement strategies and interlinkages with other UNESCO labels ; Globale Bewertung der jüngsten Strategien zur Qualitätssteigerung von UNESCO-Biosphärenreservaten und deren Verknüpfungen mit anderen UNESCO-Labeln

In 1995, the Second International Biosphere Reserve Congress in Seville resulted in a set of new regulations that spurred a significant paradigm shift in the UNESCO Man and Bio-sphere (MAB) Programme, reconceptualizing the research programme as a modern instrument for the dual mandate of nature conservation and sustainable development. But almost 20 years later, a large proportion of biosphere reserves designated before 1996 still did not comply with the new regulations. In 2013, the International Coordination Council of the MAB Programme announced the ‘Exit Strategy’ to assess, monitor and improve the quality of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. However, the strategy also meant that 266 biosphere reserves in 76 member states were faced with the possibility of exclusion from the world network. This study presents a global assessment of the challenges that result from the Exit Strategy and the Process of Excellence and Enhancement that follows. Specifically, it investigates the differences in quality management strategies and the periodic review processes of various biosphere reserves, the effects of those quality management strategies on the MAB Programme and on the 76 directly affected member states, and the interlinkages between the MAB Programme and other UNESCO designations for nature conservation: the natural World Heritage Sites and the Global Geoparks. Semi-structured expert interviews were conducted with 31 participants in 21 different countries, representing all UN regions. To showcase the diversity of the World Network of Bio-sphere Reserves, 20 country-specific case studies are presented, highlighting the challenges of implementing the biosphere reserve concept and, more specifically, the periodic review process. Information gleaned from the experts was transcribed and evaluated using a qualitative content analysis method. The results of this study demonstrate major differences worldwide in the implementation biosphere reserves, especially in the case of the national affiliation of the MAB ...