Biosphere Reserves in the Mountains of the World Excellence in the Clouds?
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Celebrating 40 years of UNESCO’s MAB Programme: an Austrian contribution Biosphere Reserves in the Mountains of the World Excellence in the Clouds? Austrian MAB Committee (ed.) Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, Vienna 2011 Biosphere Reserves in the Mountains of the World Excellence in the Clouds? Austrian MAB Committee (ed.) Abbreviations 4 Preface 5 by Thomas Schaaf Mountain Regions of the World – Threats and 7 Potentials for Conservation and Sustainable Use An Overview of the World’s Mountain Environments by Georg Grabherr & Bruno Messerli 8 Europe’s Mountain Biodiversity: Status and Threats by Marcus Zisenis & Martin F. Price 15 Sustainability and the Biosphere Reserve: A Compromise between Biodiversity, Conservation and Farmscape Transformation Content by Fausto O. Sarmiento 19 Towards Effective Conservation in Mountains: Protected Areas and Biosphere Reserves Central Asia’s Blue Pearl: The Issyk Kul BR in Kyrgyzstan by David Rodríguez-Rodríguez & Bastian Bomhard 24 by Matthias Schmidt 73 Ecotourism in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve: A Win-Win Option UNESCO’s MAB Programme – The Role of 29 for Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods Biosphere Reserves in the Mountain Regions By K.G. Saxena, R.K. Maikhuri & K.S. Rao 77 of the World Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve, Morocco, and the Role The Development of UNESCO‘s MAB Programme, of Women’s Cooperatives with a Special Focus on Mountain Aspects by Mohamed Boussaid 81 by Sigrun Lange 30 Conserving Biodiversity for the Sake of Local People: Biosphere Reserves in European Mountains: Why Biosphere Reserves are Ideal Development an Exploratory Survey Instruments for Ethiopia by Diana Borowski & Catalina Munteanu 35 by Sisay Nune 84 The MAB Programme – Vision and Reality: Case Saving the Wild Coffee Forests – Joint Forces for Kafa BR Study of the Transboundary Tatry Biosphere Reserve by Svane Bender-Kaphengst 89 by Ivan Vološčuk 41 The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Biosphere Reserve, Colombia – The Origin of ‘Coffee K.U.L.T.’ ® Worldwide Case Studies – The Role of 45 by Lydia Thiel & Dirk Effler 93 Biosphere Reserves in Research and Monitoring Increasing Energy Efficiency – the Case Study of Monitoring Global Change in Mountain Biosphere Reserves: Großes Walsertal Biosphere Reserve GLOCHAMORE, GLOCHAMOST and GLORIA by Sigrun Lange 96 by Sigrun Lange 46 Sierra Nevada Observatory for Monitoring Global Change: Worldwide Case Studies – Model Regions for 99 Towards the Adaptive Management of Natural Resources Participatory Approaches, Global Networking by F.J. Bonet, R. Aspizua, R. Zamora, F. Javier Sánchez, F. and Effective Evaluation Javier Cano-Manuel & I. Henares 48 Education and Training for Conservation: the Case of Monitoring Climate Change Effects in the Katunskiy the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, Mexico Biosphere Reserve (Russian Federation) by Roberto Pedraza 100 by Tatjana Yashina & Igor Artemov 53 Key Factors for a Successful Implementation of the Biosphere First Steps towards Social Monitoring in Biosphere Reserves Reserve Concept – the Example of the Mexican Sierra Gorda by Sigrun Lange 57 by Monika Bertzky 102 A New Label for Biosphere Reserves with a Long Research Biodiversity Conservation in the Transboundary Biosphere Tradition? The Case of the Gossenköllesee BR, Austria Reserve of Krkonose/Karkonosze by Günter Köck 60 by Jiri Flousek & Jakub Kaspar 104 A Piece of Wilderness: The Conservation of the Primeval International Partnerships and Learning Platforms: The Beech Forests in the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve, Ukraine Cooperation between a German and Several Canadian BRs by Fedir Hamor, Vasyl Pokynchereda, Victoria Gubko & by Rebecca Pollock, Karl-Friedrich Abe, Reinhard Braun, Yaroslav Dovhanych 64 Andrew Hawrysh & Claude LeTarte 108 Tracking Management Effectiveness: Worldwide Case Studies – The Challenge of 69 Experiences from two Carpathian Biosphere Reserves Reconciling Conservation and Sustainable by Cristian-Remus Papp 112 Development Imprint 116 Altaiskiy Biosphere Reserve: Indigenous and Local People’s Contribution to Conservation and Sustainable Development Authors 117 by Yuri Badenkov, Svetlana Shigreva & Igor Kalmikov 70 ALPEC Alianza para Ecosistemas Criticos AMA Andean Mountains Association BCBR Bilateral Council of Krkonose/Karkonosze BR BR Biosphere Reserve BRIM Biosphere Reserve Integrated Monitoring CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CBR Carpathian Biosphere Reserve CBRA Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association CEA Critical Ecosystem Alliance CONANP National Commission of Natural Protected Areas, Mexico Abbreviations COP Conference of the Parties CPAMETT Carpathian Protected Area Management MAB-NC MAB National Committee Effectiveness Tracking Tool MAP Madrid Action Plan (adopted 2008 during the DSW German Foundation for World Population Third World Congress of Biosphere Reserves) (Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung) METT Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool EC European Commission (developed by WWF and the World Bank) ECNC European Centre for Nature Conservation MRI Mountain Research Initiative EEA European Environment Agency NABU Naturschutzbund Deutschland eea® European Energy Award® Nearctic The Nearctic is one of the eight terrestrial EFAP Ethiopian Forestry Action Programme ecozones dividing the Earth’s land surface. It covers most of North America, including ETC/BD European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity Greenland and the highlands of Mexico. EU European Union NGO Non-Governmental Organisation FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the NP National Park United Nations NTFP Non-Timber Forest Products FDI Foreign Direct Investment PA Protected Areas FWF Austrian fund for scientific research projects PCDA Programme for Conservation and Develop- GEF Global Environmental Facility ment of the Arganeraie GESGIAP Sierra Gorda Ecological Group PFM Participatory Forest Management GIS Geographical Information System PGI Protected Geographical Indication GLOCHAMORE Global Change in Mountain Regions PoWPA CBD’s Programme of Work on Protected Areas GLOCHAMOST Global Climate Change in Mountain Sites, PPP Public-Private Partnership Coping Strategies for Mountain Biosphere Reserves RARBA Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve Association’s Network GLORIA Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments TANAP Tatry National Park GPS Global Positioning System UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification GTZ German Association for Technical Cooperation in Developing Countries (since 2011: GIZ) UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment & Development, hold in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro IBP International Biological Programme (also referred to as ‘Earth Summit’) ICC International Coordination Council of the Man UNEP United Nations Environment Programme and the Biosphere Programme UNDP United Nations Development Programme IBA Important Bird Areas UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and IHP International Hydrological Programme Cultural Organisation IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change WCMC UNEP’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature WDPA World Database on Protected Areas LTER Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) WNBR World Network of Biosphere Reserves MAB UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme WWF World Wide Fund for Nature Mountain landscapes are among the most complex and fragile ecosystems on earth. Their very verticality and exposure to the sun and prevailing wind directions produce a range of different habitats whose composition may vary dramatically with minor variations in altitude. These differences can be obvious in the tropics or sub-tropics – such as the presence of palm trees at lower altitudes and glaciers at higher ones – or more subtle, such by Thomas Schaaf, UNESCO as the shifts in insect species as one moves up a mountain slope. Anthropogenically induced erosion (e.g. over-grazing) and natural hazards (floods, avalanches, glacial lake outbursts, seismic activities) testify to the fragility of mountain environments. And yet the fragility and in particular the diversity of mountains make them most valuable from the point of view of biodiversity conservation. Relict species from former climatic periods and rare and endangered species find refuge in relatively inaccessible areas that benefit from low levels of disturbance by humans. Preface However, biodiversity conservation is at risk when economic development, social development and environmental protection are practised in a disaggregated manner. It should not be by the Rio+20 conference to be held in Brazil in 2012 (twenty overlooked that mountains also provide homes to people and years after the Earth Summit) will be ‘green economy in the their distinct cultures. The rational use of mountain resources context of sustainable development and poverty reduction’. As (water, timber, minerals, medicinal plants etc.) is mandatory in stated in this publication, some mountain biosphere reserves a world marked by rapid demographic growth and accelerating illustrate this theme very well. global change including climate change. In the field of scientific collaboration, the diversity and fragility It is not an easy task to combine the needs for biodiversity of mountain ecosystems make mountains excellent indicator conservation in mountains with promoting future-oriented sites to assess, study and monitor global climate change impacts life-styles for people, thus fostering sustainable development on mountain environments as well as on the socio-economic for mountain communities. But this is precisely