What are the characteristics and framework conditions of a Biosphere Reserve?

Biosphere Reserves are "learning environments for long-term growth"

(Batisse, 1982, p. 102). They serve as ‘test beds’ for interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and addressing changes in social and ecological processes, as well as avoidance of conflicts and biodiversity management.

They are locations that provide local solutions to global problems. Biosphere Reserves can be terrestrial, marine, and/or coastal habitats (Nyhus & Adams, 1995, p. 33), whereas each site individually promotes solutions that balance biodiversity conservation with long-term use. This implies that the Biosphere Reserve framework can be implemented regardless of the chosen habitat. Of importance seems the long-term aspect of nature conservation as well as sustainable development which is communicated very strongly. However, this implies a complexity, that cannot be achieved through a designated framework alone.

Local communities and other interested parties are involved in the planning and management of Biosphere Reserves (UNESCO, n.d.). The focus of those, who plan and manage, lays on the optimal implementation of three functions a Biosphere Reserve is designated to accomplish.

These three key "functions" that Biosphere Reserves incorporate are:

• biodiversity and cultural diversity preservation,

• socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable economic growth,

• supporting production with logistical support, testing, tracking, education, and training facilities.

These three main functions are incorporated within three zones inside the Biosphere Reserve framework. In these three zones, the above mentioned functions are being sought after and carried out.

Biosphere Reserves are primarily divided into three interconnected areas, known as the core zone, the buffer zone, and the transition zone, to carry out the complementary tasks of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

To clarify:

Core Zone - It consists of a strictly protected zone that contributes to landscape, biodiversity, animal, and genetic variation conservation.

Buffer Zone - It surrounds or adjoins the core area(s) and is used for activities that promote scientific study, monitoring, training, and education while adhering to sound ecological practices.

Transition Zone - Communities in the transition zone promote socio-culturally and environmentally sustainable economic and human activities.

Figure 26: UNESCO (n.d.). Visual representation of zoning in Biosphere Reserves. Retrieved from https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/about

The zone definition is meant to be adaptable, and it can be used in a number of ways to meet local needs and conditions. In a Biosphere Reserve, ownership conditions differ as well. Biosphere Reserves are often made up of legally protected public property, such as a previously declared national parks, wilderness areas, or wildlife refuges. The core region, on the other hand, may be privately owned or controlled by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) (UNESCO, n.d.). The term Biosphere Reserve can therefore be seen as a hypernym, meaning it can implement already existing protected areas as well as regions without a label. It joins together not only areas of surface but also humans as well as economy, politics and culture and steers the path towards conservation of nature and sustainable development making the framework a very complex and intertwined concept but also a very promising and influential notion.

For better understanding purposes a more sufficient description of the zones will be given below.

The core zone includes protected areas because they serve as a reference point for the natural state of the habitats represented by Biosphere Reserves.

The information gathered in these core areas can be used to determine the long-term viability of activities or the preservation of environmental quality in the surrounding areas. They are safe havens for conserving biological diversity, monitoring minimally disrupted habitats, non-destructive testing, and other low-impact activities (such as education). In addition to its conservation role, the core area contributes to a variety of ecosystem services that can be quantified in terms of development functions (e.g., carbon sequestration, soil stabilization, supply of clean water and air, etc.) and work opportunities, which can also help in achieving the conservation goals (e.g., environmental education, research, environmental rehabilitation and conservation measures, recreation and eco-tourism). Managers of the core areas can contribute resources to projects built with Biosphere Reserve residents, businesses, and other partners. (UNESCO, n.d.; Waterton, n.d.)

The buffer zone is either parallel to or surrounds the core area. The activities are planned in such a way that they do not obstruct the core area's conservation goals, but rather aid in their protection. The buffer zone could be a testing ground for new ideas, or it could be a place where natural vegetation, agricultural land, wetlands, fisheries, or ranch land are managed to improve overall production efficiency while preserving natural processes and biodiversity (UNESCO, n.d.). Education, training, tourism, and leisure facilities may be located in the buffer zone (Waterton, n.d.). In several Biosphere Reserves, the buffer zone is thought to be an area where human activity is less intense compared to the transition zone. Buffer zones can have their own intrinsic, "stand-alone" functions for preserving anthropogenic, biological, and cultural diversity, in addition to the buffering role related to core areas. They may also play an important role in connecting biodiversity components in core areas with those in transition areas in a broader spatial sense.

The transition zone, also known as the "Area of Cooperation," is the vast outer area of a Biosphere Reserve where people live and work in a sustainable manner while using the natural resources of the area. The phrase "area of cooperation" emphasizes the importance of cooperation in achieving the Biosphere Reserve's goals (UNESCO, n.d.). Local communities, environmental organizations, scientists, civil societies, cultural groups, companies, and other stakeholders come together here to agree to work together to maintain and use the area in a sustainable manner that benefits the people who live there and the environment in which they all operate. It is a centrally located region of sustainable development that may include a range of agricultural operations, villages and other land uses, and in which local governments, management agencies, scientists, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), cultural groups, economic entities, and other stakeholders collaborate to manage and expand the area's resources in a sustainable manner (Waterton, n.d.).

The UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme's Biosphere Reserve (BR) model represents a move towards more accountable conservation (Coetzer, Witkowski & Erasmus, 2013, p. 9). Biosphere Reserves are an effort to balance environmental sustainability with long-term growth by expressly acknowledging humans and human interests in the conservation landscape while preserving the ecological values of existing protected areas. However, according to Coetzer, Witkowski & Erasmus, 2013, p. 14 incorporating dual

‘conservation' and ‘development' objectives in practice is difficult, with few examples successfully meeting all of the model's requirements. With simultaneous conservation and development goals, the challenge for Biosphere Reserves authorities is to recognize changing patterns and respond accordingly, avoiding unfavourable transition before it leads to permanent damage.

Following this conception, the core concept behind Biosphere Reserves is that humanity and nature should coexist and achieve sustainable and beneficial growth for all, and that learning is an integral part of this process. The Biosphere Reserves serve as a semi-protected testing grounds for interdisciplinary research aimed at better understanding and coping with change and the interplay between social and ecological systems. The question arises, if the Biosphere Reserve, due to its protection and research qualities, makes the area more worth living in, which could also possibly have a positive impact on the negative migration, that the region has been facing. It would be possible, that due to the nature of the Biosphere Reserve, people would decide to keep living in this area, or that it would work as a catalyst, resulting in positive migration into the area.

Biosphere Reserves include areas that have been designated as protected areas or other formal conservation designations. Overlapping classification, on the other hand, does not necessarily imply a combined effort to defend. Where sensitive environments exist, the Biosphere Reserve model's "growth" and

"resource-use" criteria may not favour them, necessitating ongoing re-evaluation. Therefore, strategic decisions seem to be fundamental to ensuring that the Biosphere Reserve goes in the right direction.

6.

Strategic Decisions

If Julius Cesar (100BC – 44BC), the most known Roman emperor, would not have been the strategist he was, he could have never turned the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He, therefore, used his strategies not only to gain military but also political power, which later granted him the role of Roman emperor.

And would he not have written his experiences of his campaigns down, then centuries later one of the most known military strategists of modern time, Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821), could not have studied them, which ultimately brought him historical fame.

Strategies are often associated and related to military actions, because they were used in this context for centuries. However, in the last century the term broke through towards the economic battlefield, once again assuring its importance and significance.