On 28 October 2020, the Minett became a UNESCO recognised biosphere reserve

© Marc Weis

Since 2016, the Luxembourg Commission for UNESCO has been studying the possibility of the southern region of the country becoming a candidate for this prestigious programme, which was created in 1971. While Luxembourg is represented in all three of UNESCO’s cultural programmes (World Heritage, Memory of the World and Intangible Heritage), it was not included in the natural or geological heritage programmes at the time.

With the logistical and financial support of the Département de l’Aménagement du Territoire (DATer), a group of stakeholders from the political, cultural and civil society worlds drew up a complete application dossier of over 400 pages, based on the work, research and analysis of several working groups. The application was submitted in 2019 by the inter-municipal Syndicat PRO-SUD, as project leader, accompanied by the Minister for Spatial Planning, Claude Turmes, the Minister for Culture, Sam Tanson, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, Carole Dieschbourg, and the Minister for Tourism, Lex Delles.

At the end of October 2020, the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (ICC-MAB) recognised the quality of the application and the potential of the region concerned as a model of sustainable development and approved the Minett UNESCO Biosphere nomination. This recognition allows the project to join a worldwide network of recognised prestige and quality that currently includes 738 biosphere reserves in 134 countries, including 22 transboundary sites, and brings international recognition to the rich biodiversity of the former open-cast mines that have been reclaimed.

The south of Luxembourg, much more than a mining basin

Shaped by its mining and industrial past, the south of Luxembourg has undergone profound changes over the last forty years. Proud of its history, the region has succeeded in reinventing itself, making the right choices in terms of reconversion and becoming a place where innovation, economic development and approaches that respect the biological and cultural diversity of the area are combined with balance and sustainability.

The award of this label is a great recognition for the region. Through their initiatives, the eleven municipalities that make up the Syndicat PRO-SUD have always sought to promote, encourage and develop original and innovative actions that improve the quality of life of their inhabitants while preserving the natural environment around them.

The UNESCO label is not only an honour but also a challenge. The South intends to continue its efforts in various fields, such as tourism, culture, education, the preservation of our industrial and natural heritage and urban planning, in order to strengthen the integration of a growing population and preserve biodiversity in all environments. This recognition is also an opportunity to become a source of inspiration for the whole region, but also for the country and even the French border region, by demonstrating that a local contribution can be part of the global paradigm shift towards a sustainable ecology.

The recognition and honour, but also the challenge, of obtaining this label therefore goes far beyond a single region and concerns the whole of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. From the point of view of culture, tourism, the environment and spatial planning.

Indeed, regional development is a key issue in spatial planning: by facilitating the coordination of policies at supranational, national, regional and local levels, the MAB label is a valuable tool for implementing sustainable spatial planning objectives by ensuring multilevel and multi-sectoral governance.

One of the concrete follow-up actions taken by the region following the acquisition of the UNESCO label is a declaration of interest signed by the eleven member municipalities of the Syndicat PRO-SUD, in which they declare their common desire to transform the Sud region into a “net zero carbon” biosphere reserve in the years ahead.