Management Manual for UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Africa A practical guide for managers United Nations Man and Educational, Scientific the biosphere and Cultural Organisation Programme Management Manual for UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Africa A practical guide for managers Prof Dr Wafaa Amer, Sheila Ashong and Dr Djafarou Tiomoko edited by the German Commission for UNESCO in collaboration with AfriMAB, ArabMAB and the UNESCO MAB Secretariat 3 IMPRINT Management Manual for UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Africa A practical guide for managers Editor German Commission for UNESCO Colmantstrasse 15 | 53115 Bonn | Germany www.unesco.de Authors: Professor Dr Wafaa Amer, Sheila Ashong and Dr Djafarou Tiomoko Responsible editor: Dr Lutz Möller Graphical illustrations: Gareth Williams, Sparx Media Illustrators, www.sparx.co.za Photograph authors are indicated in the captions. Publication data: June 2015 Creative Commons Licence CC BY-SA 4.0 international (excluding copyrighted illustrations and photographs) ISBN: 978-3-940785-73-2 The German National Library lists this publication in the German National Bibliography Detailed biblio- graphic data are available at: http://dnb.ddb.de Suggested citation: German Commission for UNESCO (2015). Management Manual for UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Africa. For downloading the digital version of this Manual: http://bit.ly/1E8sjfU The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO or the German Commission for UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors; they are not necessarily those of UNESCO or the German Commission for UNESCO. This publication was funded and supported by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation of the Federal Republic of Ger- many, with funding from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building, and Nuclear Safety. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1: BIOSPHERE RESERVES, an introduction ....................................................................................................................14 1.1 Why do we need this Manual? .........................................................................................................................................................14 1.2 Who should read this Manual and why ...........................................................................................................................................15 1.3 UNESCO and its MAB Programme ................................................................................................................................................16 1.4 UNESCO biosphere reserves – The essentials ................................................................................................................................17 Key characteristics .................................................................................................................................................................................17 Three functions and three zones ............................................................................................................................................................17 Key documents .....................................................................................................................................................................................18 Different institutional approaches, one objective ..................................................................................................................................18 A snapshot: What does “managing a biosphere reserve” actually mean? .............................................................................................19 1.5 The context and benefits of UNESCO biosphere reserves – in Africa ............................................................................................20 UNESCO biosphere reserves support sustainable development in Africa ...........................................................................................21 UNESCO biosphere reserves and protected areas .................................................................................................................................21 Key achievements and key benefits of UNESCO biosphere reserves ..................................................................................................22 Concrete examples from African UNESCO biosphere reserves: .........................................................................................................23 SECTION 2: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – POPULATION – CONFLICTS – KNOWLEDGE ........................................... 26 2.1 Sustainable Development ................................................................................................................................................................. 26 Defining sustainable development ......................................................................................................................................................... 26 Improving livelihoods and generating income for communities ........................................................................................................... 28 Biodiversity and ecosystem services ..................................................................................................................................................... 29 Sustainable land-use and resource use ................................................................................................................................................... 32 Ecosystem restoration ........................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Disaster reduction and risk management ............................................................................................................................................... 35 Tourism ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 35 Climate change ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 38 2.2 Management and participation ........................................................................................................................................................ 39 Management ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 39 Planning ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 40 Participation in management and planning ............................................................................................................................................ 41 What is the population, what are stakeholders? ..................................................................................................................................... 42 Vulnerable groups .................................................................................................................................................................................. 43 Fundamental principles of participation ................................................................................................................................................ 44 2.3 Conflict management ...................................................................................................................................................................... 45 Managing conflicts within the biosphere reserve .................................................................................................................................. 46 Managing external pressures ................................................................................................................................................................. 47 Benefit-sharing ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 48 Co-management ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 49 Acute escalation of conflicts .................................................................................................................................................................. 50 2.4 The role of knowledge in management ........................................................................................................................................... 52 What knowledge and what research are needed for managing a biosphere reserve? ............................................................................ 54 Science and traditional knowledge .......................................................................................................................................................