Eleven new biosphere reserves added to global list

Current Context : The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated 11 new biosphere reserves, recognizing their importance for conserving biodiversity and cultural heritage.

• The new designations are in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Gambia, Italy, Mongolia, Philippines, the Republic of Korea and Spain.

ABOUT BIOSPHERE RESERVE :

• Biosphere reserves are nominated by national governments and remain under the sovereign jurisdiction of the States where they are located.
• They are designated by UNESCO following an intergovernmental designation process the under the Man and Biodiversity (MAB) Programme.
• The new reserves bring the World Network of Biosphere Reserves up to 759 sites in 136 countries and cover a total of 7,442,000 square kilometres (about 2,870,000 square miles), almost the size of Australia.
• There are about 275 million people living in biosphere reserves worldwide.
• There are 18 biosphere reserves in India.

ABOUT MAN AND BIODIVERSITY (MAB) PROGRAMME.

• It is an intergovernmental scientific programme.
• Objective : to establish a scientific basis for enhancing the relationship between people and their environments.