Posted November 1999
Prepared by Thomas Schaaf, UNESCO
UNESCO has been focusing on environment and development issues for the past 50 years. Its broad mandate and expertise in the sciences, education, culture and communication, enable it to respond in an integrated fashion to the complex and challenging requirements of sustainable development and, since the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, the Organization has reoriented its programmes and priorities further to address and promote sustainable development. The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme is one example of how UNESCO is working at the interface of environmental conservation, rural development and food security.
The main objective of UNESCO is to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication. To fulfil its mandate, UNESCO performs five principal functions: prospective studies: the advancement, transfer and sharing of knowledge; standard-setting action; expertise; and exchange of specialized information.
All these functions are inherent in UNESCO's international programmes on the environment, such as the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) or the International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP), which also addresses problems of rural development. However, it is the UNESCO's Programme on Man and the Biosphere (MAB) - and its World Network of Biosphere Reserves - that is studying specifically the feasbility of ensuring conservation of the environment, while at the same time promoting human and sustainable economic development in rural areas.
It is often been said that the attempt to combine economic development and environmental protection resembles the squaring of the circle; in other words, that environmental conservation prevents economic development, especially in rural areas, since land with conservation value is legally protected (such as in the case of national parks) and is therefore removed from economic usage. However, the Programme on Man and the Biosphere (MAB) endeavours to demonstrate that income for rural dwellers can be generated by the conservation of the environment, while still fulfilling environmental conservation objectives.
The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme is an interdisciplinary scientific programme of research and training intended to develop the basis for the rational use and conservation of the resources in the biosphere. At the same time, the Programme studies the improvement of the global relationship between people and the environment. Studies on human-environment relationships are carried out within the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, which currently comprises 357 sites in 90 countries (link to list).
Biosphere Reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal/marine ecosystems where, through appropriate zoning patterns and management mechanisms, the conservation of ecosystems and their biodiversity are combined with the sustainable use of natural resources for the benefit of local communities, including relevant research, monitoring, education and training activities. Biosphere Reserves are internationally recognized within the framework of the UNESCO MAB Programme. Collectively, they constitute a World Network that facilitates information exchange on the conservation and management of land. They are nominated by national governments and must meet a minimal set of criteria and adhere to a minimal set of conditions before being admitted into the World Network.
Each Biosphere Reserve is intended to fulfil three basic functions, which are complementary and mutually reinforcing:
Biosphere Reserves have been designed to meet one of the most challenging issues facing the world as we move towards the 21st century: How can we conserve the diversity of plants, animals and micro-organisms which make up our living biosphere and maintain healthy natural systems, while at the same time meet the material needs and aspirations of an increasing number of people, especially in rural areas? Furthermore, how can we reconcile conservation of biological resources with their sustainable use?
With the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio, 1992), the term "sustainable development" came into increasing common use, encompassing as it does care of the environment; living from the land without depleting its capital and with greater social equity, including respect for rural communities and their accumulated wisdom. However, the global community needs working examples that encapsulate the ideas of the Rio Conference. Such examples can only work if they express all the social, cultural, spiritual and economic needs of society and are also based on sound science.
The International Conference on Biosphere Reserves (Seville, Spain, 1995), confirmed that Biosphere Reserves represent such working examples. Biosphere Reserves have a new role to play at the global level: not only are they a means of allowing the rural people who live and work in and around them to attain a balanced relationship with the natural world, but they also let us explore ways in which to meet the future sustainable needs of society as a whole.
Many case studies from around the world demonstrate that Biosphere Reserves play an important role in environmental conservation and rural development.
The following examples from Africa illustrate that the "biosphere reserve approach" has been tested with good results.
Project "Biosphere Reserves for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in Anglophone Africa (BRAAF)"
The aim of the project "Biosphere Reserves for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in Anglophone Africa (BRAAF)" was to ensure the long-term conservation of biodiversity in a coordinated network of biosphere reserves in Africa. Emphasis was put on meeting the needs of rural populations living in or around Biosphere Reserves, through sustainable use of natural resources by using a sound scientific base for the design and management of such areas. The project, funded by Germany through a funds-in-trust arrangement with UNESCO, lasted from June 1995 to December 1998.
The project's immediate objectives focused on supporting the efforts of the governments of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda in strengthening the conservation of their natural resources and protecting the environment. The BRAAF project assessed the needs of rural populations living in biosphere reserves in sustainably using and managing natural resources without disrupting fragile ecosystems. It also aimed at coupling environmental conservation and sustainable development through revision of existing biosphere reserve management plans. Furthermore, it increased collaboration among African countries by sharing knowledge and expertise on appropriate ecosystem management, environmental conservation and enhancing the livelihoods of rural people. Finally, the project helped to support ongoing scientific research and environmental protection projects in the light of national scientific capacity-building.
In using an integrated approach, the project pooled the efforts of several national institutions in each participating country. These institutions ranged from national environmental agencies to conservation authorities, university departments, and national training and education centres. It is estimated that at least fifty researchers, extension officers, national park managers and technical staff were involved with project implementation in each BRAAF country, i.e. a total of some 250 staff at the professional level carried out project activities. A much higher number of rural people living in or near biosphere reserves were sensitised and trained on environmental conservation issues and the promotion of economic activities which are in line with conservation objectives.
At the scientific level, in-depth inventories on plant and animal species were carried out at each biosphere reserve, which provided an up-dated basis for any ensuing environmental conservation management. Reflecting the overall concept of the UNESCO MAB Programme, studies on the human-environment interactions were given priority. In each BRAAF country, the needs and aspirations of people living in or near the biosphere reserves were analysed. Based on the surveys, several income-generating activities were actively promoted and supported by the BRAAF project in each country, such as bee keeping, snail farming and ecotourism. Moreover, the implementation of the "environmentally-friendly" economic activities was closely monitored.
As each country has its own specific socio-cultural and environmental settings, ranging from tropical forests in Ghana and Nigeria to savanna environments in Kenya and wetland conditions in Uganda, the project did not pursue a very stringent and comparative methodology. However, each site experimented with activities that were most appropriate to the conditions and needs of the rural people.
In the Bia Biosphere Reserve in Ghana, the national BRAAF group promoted the introduction of snail (Acatina acatina) farming around the national park, and introduced apiculture and mushroom collecting in the future buffer zone of the reserve as a means to reduce the pressure on the park's resources. In line with the perceived needs of the local population, rice mills for the processing of gari (yam flour) provided to several villages around the core zone. The Ghanaian BRAAF team have noted that, through their awareness seminars in the Biosphere Reserve, local people have now become convinced of the importance of not only protecting the forest but also the animals it contains. At the scientific level, the inventories of plant species and eco-physiological studies were carried out in Bia Biosphere Reserve. A technical working group was concerned with the delineation of a buffer zone around Bia National Park, and a new management plan with a revised biosphere reserve zonation is currently under preparation.
As in the Bia Biosphere Reserve in Ghana, the national BRAAF team in Nigeria provided local people with training in beekeeping, fishing and snail farming activities at the Omo Biosphere Reserve. Seedlings for multi-purpose fruit trees were provided free of charge to rural people. Through the BRAAF Project, the College of Environmental Resources Management at the University of Abeokuta is now using Omo Biosphere Reserve as a field research site for its students. Since the flora and fauna of the Omo Biosphere Reserve had never previously been recorded and studied in detail due to lack of funding, the Nigerian BRAAF team carried out a very detailed inventory of the biodiversity at the site. Using transect and quadrant methods, tree and plant species were recorded as well as animal species. It was noted that the biological diversity in Omo's core area was lower than in the surrounding forest reserves, which constitute the buffer zone of the Biosphere Reserve. This may be explained by the fact that the core area is an undisturbed climax forest which is less species- rich than the forest reserves which may be periodically logged, thus creating differing trophic conditions for plant and animal life.
In the Amboseli Biosphere Reserve in Kenya, the activities of the national BRAAF project team complemented several initiatives which had been already started before the onset of the BRAAF project. These included long-term biodiversity monitoring and recording of ethnobotanic usages of some 40 plant species. The Maasai owned and operated group ranches in the buffer zone of Amboseli Biosphere Reserve and were given additional support and advice through the Kenya Wildlife Service. Provision of water to the Maasais was facilitated and continued under BRAAF. Several national BRAAF meetings were held in collaboration with the National Museums of Kenya with a view to continuing sensitization of the local Maasai communities on the biosphere reserve objectives and to assess their perceived needs. As a result of these continued community extension services, some 90 percent of the local people have been reached and increased awareness building on environmental conservation has been attained. Since a number of different projects operate in Amboseli, the Kenyan BRAAF team used the national BRAAF workshops to synergize the various efforts for environmental conservation and local community development.
While the wildlife in Lake Manyara Biosphere Reserve in Tanzania had already been well recorded in the past, detailed inventories on the flora of the park were still deficient. Through the BRAAF project, a floristic inventory was initiated. A series of national workshops targeted at local communities were held, in order to sensitize them to conservation objectives. At the same time, studies were carried out to assess the needs of the communities living around the park which had voiced concerns about the lack of schools and dispensaries. The expansion of eco-tourism as well as the promotion of apiculture were studied, as these activities could generate income and supplement the daily diets of rural dwellers. The BRAAF Project resulted in the preparation of a General Management Plan (GMP) for the biosphere reserve area that permits some economic activities which are in line with conservation objectives. The GMP envisages a clear zonation of the area according to the biosphere reserve concept with core, buffer and transition zones. The GMP is being elaborated through a participatory approach, including the national park authorities, local people, rural district officials and the Mweka School of Wildlife Management.
Bee keeping for honey production also proved to be very popular for the rural population in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth Biosphere Reserve, as the eleven fishing villages located within the Queen Elizabeth National Park have very little space to expand their agricultural activities. With a view to reducing pressure on the park's resources, alternative income- generating activities were put in place: 60 modern beehives for apiculture were provided to the village communities as there is a honey processing factory in the nearby town of Kasese. BRAAF funds were also used to complete a handicraft shop at Kasese village where women can sell their products to tourists visiting the Queen Elizabeth National Park. As a result, some 20 percent of the park's benefits derived from tourism are now diverted to the fishing villages within the park. The inventory of dominant plant species was carried out, as was the recording of wildlife (the latter was undertaken with the help of tourists: after each game drive, tourists would record and signal their animal sightings to the park management). In addition, the Uganda BRAAF team was contacted by a copper mine operating at the foot of the Rwenzori Mountains whose wastewaters discharge into the Queen Elizabeth Biosphere Reserve, in order to assist with toxicological impact studies on the biosphere reserve and to mitigate its effects.
Networking among scientists and biosphere reserve managers was a key element in the success of the BRAAF project. Every year, international seminars were held on a rotational basis in the countries participating in the project, and these were coupled with field trips to the individual biosphere reserves. Scientists from eastern and western Africa thus benefited from exchanging their experiences in natural resource management and satisfying needs of rural dwellers.
The first international BRAAF meeting was held in July 1996 at Amboseli Biosphere Reserve (Kenya) in conjunction with a "UNESCO/UNEP Training Course on Biodiversity Conservation and Utilization". The second BRAAF meeting took place at the Queen Elizabeth Biosphere Reserve (Uganda) in February 1996, and this was combined with a scientific seminar on "Utilisation of Wetland Resources". Ghana was host to the third BRAAF meeting in March 1997 and organized a seminar on the topic "Biodiversity Conservation: Modern Concepts and Traditional Knowledge". The fourth BRAAF meeting was held in Arusha and at Lake Manyara Biosphere Reserve (Tanzania) in 1998, which was also attended by observers from South Africa, the United States MAB National Committee and theWorld Conservation Monitoring Centre.
The cooperative aspect of the BRAAF Project has forged close working links that have enhanced the capacity of scientists of different multidisciplinary backgrounds and rural people to work together in viewing environmental problems from an integrated viewpoint. More significantly, BRAAF has created a dynamic framework in which scientists can work together with rural communities to achieve sustainable environmental development.