Relating the biosphere reserve to other protected area management categories

Abstract

The concept of the biosphere reserve is one of the major innovations in natural resources management, providing a framework to relate that management directly to the needs of people. Its bold goal is to promote a balanced relationship between people and their environment, and, thus, to serve human needs by promoting sustained, ecologically sound development. It is hoped that the biosphere reserve programme will make an important supplementary contribution to national programmes of conservation and integrated resource management and ecologically soun development. The attemp to set up a worldwide network of biosphere reserves is a new and important initiative in the efforts to provide and assured future for manking. If handled imaginatively it should provide an excellent opportunity of increasing understanding of the probleMON of the biosphere and of involving people, especially local people, in conservation and management which have a vital bearing on their own future.