With the Hangzhou Strategic Action Plan, new priorities and perspectives for the worldwide network of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves have been adopted. These are to be implemented by 2035.
Over 4,000 participants, including a representative from the Minett UNESCO Biosphere, gathered this week in the Chinese city of Hangzhou to adopt the new global strategy for the development of biosphere reserves around the world.
The Hangzhou Strategic Action Plan, which replaces the 2016 Lima Strategy, has been developed over the last 20 months. This included, among other things, regional congresses of UNESCO Biospheres, such as EuroMAB 2024, which took place in the spring of last year. At this meeting, the biosphere reserves from Europe and North America formulated their priorities, many of which have been incorporated into the new global strategy.
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© Minett UNESCO Biosphere
3 Objectives for the next 10 years
The Hangzhou Strategic Action Plan, adopted on Thursday, the final day of the 5th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves, readjusts the concrete on-the-ground missions of the over 750 UNESCO Biospheres in more than 130 countries. This plan sets 3 major objectives for the future development of biosphere reserves, which can be considered one of the main actors in the fight against the biodiversity crisis.
The first objective is to contribute to achieving multilateral environmental agreements and to support the implementation of the Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The second objective is to strengthen the “Man and the Biosphere” programme and the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, and to find additional funding and personnel to further enhance the excellence of the network.
The third and final objective is to develop research and share knowledge from the field of biosphere reserves in order to create a better relationship between humans and nature.
Specifically, 34 defined goals are to be achieved for these three objectives, which will then be evaluated before the next World Congress of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in 2035.
The complete Hangzhou Strategic Action Plan
The English version can be found here.
The French version can be found here.