UNESCO in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, concluded the 10th South and Central Asian Biosphere Reserve Network Meeting (SACAM) in Chennai, India (November 1-3).
With the theme “Ridge to Reef,” the SACAM provided a platform for exchanging knowledge and fostering collaborations in the realm of sustainable environmental practices in the South and Central Asia Region.
World Biosphere Reserve Day is celebrated on November 3 each year to raise awareness of the importance of biosphere reserves and to promote their conservation and sustainable use.
In the heart of each biosphere reserve lies the strictly protected core zone, providing habitat for flora and fauna, and protecting water, soil, air, and biota as a whole ecosystem.
There is a buffer zone surrounding the core zone, where people live and work in harmony with nature; a zone that also functions as a laboratory for scientists to study nature, and for training and education.
The outermost edge is the transition zone where communities practise socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable human activities.
The UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme enhances the human-environment relationship through combining natural and social sciences to improve livelihoods, safeguard ecosystems, and promote sustainable economic development.
Designated by UNESCO to promote the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable development, and research, biosphere reserves are also supported by other United Nations agencies, for example the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme, as well as the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
According to UNESCO, there are currently 748 biosphere reserves across 134 countries, including 22 transboundary sites, enhancing the friendly cooperation between neighbouring countries. They impact the lives of more than 250 million people in 134 countries; 12 sites can be found in India alone.
