Biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program: Past contributions and future directions

Abstract

U.S. Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program is part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) MAB program, and is one of six regional MAB programs that span the globe. The MAB Program was created in 1971 with the goal to explore, demonstrate, promote, and encourage harmonious relationships between people and their environments. Biosphere reserve networks are a primary vehicle for accomplishing MAB goals and serve four basic functions: 1) conserve biodiversity, 2) demonstrate sustainable development approaches, 3) support research and monitoring related to local, national, and global issues of conservation and sustainable development, and 4) build social capacity for sustainable development through education and training. The U.S. network, established in 1976, consists of 47 biosphere reserves that represent a diversity of ecosystems. The U.S. MAB program is in a period of reflection and revitalization as it nears 30 years of commitment and contribution to biological diversity conservation and sustainable development. Major accomplishments of the U.S. MAB program have been through many different institutions, such as the Information Center for the Environment’s (ICE) development of a biodiversity database that serves to document species occurrences for protected areas around the world (www.ice.ucdavis.edu), the development of the monitoring and assessment of biodiversity program research and education activities by the Smithsonian Institution (www.nationalzoo.si.edu/conservationandscience/MAB), and Southern Appalachian MAB program’s exemplary achievements in promoting environmental health and stewardship in natural and cultural ecosystems in the Southern Appalachian mountains. Future emphasis areas for the U.S. MAB program include refreshed operating principles based on a model of integrated human and natural ecosystems, enhanced networking capabilities among reserves within the U.S. and around the world, innovative advances in global change monitoring, sustainability research, and education at U.S. biosphere reserves, and accelerated development of solutions to key challenges to sustainability.

Parent Publication

• Monitoring Science and Technology Symposium: Unifying Knowledge for Sustainability in the Western Hemisphere

Citation

Manley, P. N.; Hayes, D. C. 2006. Biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program: Past contributions and future directions. In: Aguirre-Bravo, C.; Pellicane, Patrick J.; Burns, Denver P.; and Draggan, Sidney, Eds. 2006. Monitoring Science and Technology Symposium: Unifying Knowledge for Sustainability in the Western Hemisphere Proceedings RMRS-P-42CD. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 663-670