Man and the Biosphere Programme
UNESCO conservation programme
The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is a division of UNESCO that tries to improve and encourage conservation and sustainability around the world. It was created in 1971. Its main focus is a network of biosphere reserves. The programme acts as a kind of forum for exchanging ideas and experiences on sustainable development and management of these reserves. Biosphere reserves are areas that are supposed to develop creative ideas, test them and share the results. To date, there are 621 biosphere reserves in 117 countries.[1]
| UNESCO Region | Number of Biosphere Reserves |
Number of Countries |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 64 | 28 |
| Arab states | 271 | 11 |
| Asia and the Pacific | 124 | 23 |
| Europe and North America | 289 | 34 |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 117 | 21 |
1 Includes the Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean, shared between Morocco and Spain
*Table not up to date
References
change- ↑ UNESCO: Biosphere Reserves, retrieved 22 October 2013
