UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves: General Questions
UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves: General Questions
This survey will form the basis for the new Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme's data
management system for the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. We will develop an online
platform with key information of all UNESCO Biosphere Reserves including an interactive map.
Therefore, we need your assistance to provide the information in a digital format so that it can be
integrated in the new platform and is consistent between all biosphere reserves. It is an extended
survey that will take you around one hour to complete if you have all information available. We kindly
recommend previewing the survey questions as it also requires the upload of maps and geospatial
data. Before you begin the survey, we recommend having the geospatial data of the biosphere
reserves in compressed zip files. For the technical feasibility we encourage you to use your browser in
a private/incognito mode to avoid problems with cookies. In addition, there is a save and resume
later option at the top right of the survey. We suggest using this option, so that you can start to
fill the survey and come back later without losing information. Only when you press “submit” the
questionnaire results will be submitted to the MAB secretariat. We prepared a guideline document that
should guide you through filling this questionnaire. In case you have any questions regarding the
survey, please contact Martha-Marie [email protected] or Yasmeen Gloria
[email protected] thank you very much for your important contributions.
General questions
6. Contact
a. Surname
b. first name:
c. Phone number (including country code)
d. Street or P.O. Box
e. City with postal code
f. Email
9. Which administrative authorities have competence for each zone of the biosphere reserve?
Please provide the names.
a. Core area(s):
b. Buffer zone(s):
c. Transition area(s):
d. Decentralized authority:
13. Please select the major ecosystem types15 and provide area [in ha] if possible.
a. Boreal forest
1
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/
2
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/earth-sciences/unesco-global-geoparks/
3
https://www.ramsar.org/
4
www.ospar.org/work-areas/bdc/marine-protected-areas
5
www.plantlife.org.uk/international/important-plant-areas-international
6
http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/ibacriteria
7
www.rac-spa.org/spami
8
www.cbd.int/ebsa/about
9
https://muslimheritage.com/ecology-muslim-heritage-history-hima-conserv-syst
10
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/index_en.htm
11
www.fao.org/3/a-bp772e.pdf
12
www.europeandataportal.eu/data/datasets/biogenetic-reserve-dataset?locale=en
13
https://lternet.edu/site/
14
ecohydrology-ihp.org/demosites/#demosites#
b. Temperate forest
c. Tropical/ sub-tropical forest
d. Temperate grassland
e. Mediterranean
f. Tropical grassland and savanna
g. Desert
h. Inland water
i. Coastal
j. Marine
k. Island
l. Mountain
m. Polar
n. Other (please specify):
14. Major land cover16 types. Please provide area [in ha] if possible: 17
Detailed definitions of land cover types can be found in the guidelines document.
a. Closed forest
b. Open forest
c. Other land cover
15
Ecosystem types according to the Synthesis report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Washington, DC
(Island Press, 2005).http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/Synthesis.aspx
16
Land cover: The physical coverage of land, usually expressed in terms of vegetation cover or lack of it. Related to, but not
synonymous with, land use (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005).
17
Classification after Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS) based on FAO (online map:
https://lcviewer.vito.be/), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3606408).
c. Evergreen broadleaved
d. Deciduous broadleaved
e. Mixed type
f. Unknown type
18. What are the main land uses (FAO) of the biosphere reserve? Please select 3. 18
Detailed definitions of land use types can be found in the guidelines document.
a. Agriculture
b. Forestry
c. Other land
d. Inland Waters
e. Coastal Waters
f. Exclusive economic zone (EEZ)
24. Please select the predominant climate zone following the Köppen-Geiger climate
classification.19
Detailed definitions on climate zones can be found in the guidelines document.
a. Tropical (A)
b. Arid (B)
c. Temperate (C)
d. Cold (D)
e. Polar (E)
30. Location (latitude and longitude, central points, in decimal degrees (DD)):
Detailed definitions to convert the degrees from DMS (degrees minutes second) to DD can be found in
the guidelines document.
a. Latitude:
b. Longitude:
32. Provide (total) surface areas of the biosphere reserve (in ha):
Please indicate the total areas of the biosphere reserve including all transboundary areas.
File upload
36. Please upload the updated zonation maps in jpg, jpeg, png or pdf format.
37. Please upload the geospatial data of the zonation of the biosphere reserve including core
area(s), buffer zone(s), transition area(s).
When uploading the files, please name it as the following example: biospherereserve
name_corearea.zip. We kindly ask you to upload your zonation maps preferably as shapefiles (ESRI
or QGIS) compressed in zip files so that we can embed them in an online map. More information can
be found in the guidelines document.
38. Please upload the geospatial data of the boundaries of the biosphere reserve. When
uploading the files, please name it as the following example: biospherereserve
name_boundaries.zip
39. Please upload any other geospatial data of the biosphere reserve (e.g., land use, land cover,
protected areas).
42. If you have a management board/committee, how many meetings did you have in the last two
years?
44. Governance of the biosphere reserve (main entity of the biosphere reserve):
a. National ministry or agency
b. Sub-national ministry or agency
c. Local authorities
d. Transboundary governance
e. Joint governance
f. Individual landowners
g. Non-profit organizations
h. Indigenous peoples
i. Youth
j. Other (please specify)
45. Are you officially involving and supporting (MAB) Youth representatives in the
governance/management of the biosphere reserve?
46. Do you have a current management/action plan for the biosphere reserve?
a. Yes
b. No
c. No information
47. If yes, since when do you have a management/action plan for the biosphere reserve?
a. Year:
Conservation function
50. How many endemic species are recorded in the biosphere reserve?
a. Flora
b. Fauna
51. How many species registered on the IUCN Red List21 of threatened species are recorded in
the biosphere reserve?
a. Flora
b. Fauna
52. What is the total number of species observed in the biosphere reserve?
a. Flora:
b. Fauna:
c. No information
53. Has the above-mentioned number of threatened species changed since the nomination of the
Biosphere Reserve?
i. Flora
A. Increased
B.No changes
C. Decreased
D. No information
ii. Fauna
A. Increased
B.No changes
C. Decreased
D. D. No information
21
www.iucnredlist.org
54. Has the above-mentioned number of threatened species changed since the last periodic
review of the biosphere reserve?
iii. Flora
A. Increased
B.No changes
C. Decreased
D. No information
iv. Fauna
A. Increased
B.No changes
C. Decreased
D. No information
55. Have any increases in biodiversity been observed in the biosphere reserve since its
nomination?
a. increased number of endemic populations
b. Increased number of endangered species
c. Increased number of species of economic or cultural value
d. Other
e. No
f. No information
56. Please indicate which "Nature’s contributions to people (NCP)" -also known as Ecosystem
Services (ES) - are present in the biosphere reserve 22. Please indicate NCP per ecosystem
type.
a. Habitat creation and maintenance
b. Pollination and dispersal of seeds and other propagules
c. Regulation of air quality
d. Regulation of climate
e. Regulation of ocean acidification
f. Regulation of freshwater quantity, location and timing
g. Regulation of freshwater and coastal water quality
h. Formation, protection and decontamination of soils and sediments
i. Regulation of hazards and extreme events
j. Regulation of detrimental organisms and biological processes
k. Energy
l. Food and feed
m. Materials, companionship and labor
n. Medicinal, biochemical and genetic resources
o. Learning and inspiration
p. Physical and psychological experiences
q. Supporting identities
r. Maintenance of options
s. NCP not relevant for biosphere reserve
22
Reporting categories of nature’s contributions to people (NCP) used in IPBES assessments according to
the generalizing perspective. Reference: Sandra Díaz et al. 2018.Assessing nature's contributions to
people, Science, 270-272, Table S2.
t. Ecosystem not present in biosphere reserve
u. No information
Development function
57. Please provide the estimated number of individuals from the biosphere reserve working in
a. Conservation
b. Agricultural sector
c. Fishing
d. Forestry
e. Mining
f. Tourism and services
g. Commerce
h. Industry
i. the biosphere reserve
j. Informal sector
k. Unemployed
l. Other (please specify)
58. How many jobs have been created by the biosphere reserve since its nomination?
a. Total number of jobs
b. Number of households
c. No information
d. Number/Chiffre/Numero
59. Which kind of actions/projects are you undertaking as a biosphere reserve to generate job
opportunities for (MAB) Youth to remain active in their territory/community?
a. Training on income generation/social entrepreneurship
b. Microcredit schemes for entrepreneurship and self-employment
c. Educational training
d. Other training subsidies
e. Other (please specify)
f. No actions
g. No information
60. What is the economic contribution (% of local GDP) generated thanks to the biosphere
reserve or in the territory of the biosphere reserve?
a. Number:
b. No information
62. How many tourists and visitors visit the biosphere reserve each year?
a. Number (per year)/ chiffre (par an)/numero (por año)
b. No information
63. Is there an information/or visitor's centre that clearly indicates that you are in a biosphere
reserve?
a. Yes
b. No
c. No information
64. Are there signs/labels indicating that you are in a biosphere reserve?
a. Yes
b. No
c. No information
66. Do you organize training courses and capacity-building activities related to the biosphere
reserve?
a. Yes
b. No
a. No information
67. If yes, please further describe training courses and capacity-building activities.
68. Does the biosphere reserve work directly with the following educational institutions?
a. Schools
b. UNESCO Associated Schools
c. Research centres
d. Universities
e. UNESCO Category 2 Centres
f. UNESCO Chairs
69. Do you have official partnerships with (any of the following)
71. If you have ongoing research projects, please specify the topics.
a. Biodiversity
b. Conservation
c. Ecology
d. Climate change
e. Socioeconomic development
f. Gender
g. Social and bio-ethnographic research
h. Cultural-biological diversity interactions
i. Other (please specify)
j. No information
73. Is the biosphere reserve using renewable energy for power production?
Please indicate which kind of renewable energy for power production is used
a. Biomass
b. Geothermal
c. Hydropower
d. Photovoltaic
e. Tidal
f. Wind power
g. Other:
h. No
i. No information
74. Have you been monitoring climate change based on global climate indicators? 23
a. Surface temperature
b. Ocean heat
c. Atmospheric CO2
d. Ocean acidification
e. Sea level
f. Glaciers
g. Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extent
h. No
i. No information
75. If you monitor global climate indicators, please specify how24 you measure the global climate
indicators.
a. Agricultural meteorological station
b. Aircraft meteorological station
c. Automatic weather station (AWS)
d. Climatological station
e. Cryosphere station
f. Precipitation station
g. Radar wind profiler station
h. Radiation station
i. Sea profiling station
j. Space Weather station
k. Surface land meteorological station (SYNOP)
l. Surface marine meteorological station
m. Upper-air / PILOT station
n. Upper-air / Radiosonde station
o. Weather radar
p. Other
q. No information
76. If you monitor global climate indicators, please specify since when you measure the global
climate indicators.
79. Have you observed extreme weather and climate events 25 in the last 10 years? If yes, please
select which climate extremes you have been observed and indicate how often they occurred
in the last 10 years, if possible.
Climate extreme (extreme weather or climate event): The occurrence of a value of a weather or
climate variable above (or below) a threshold value near the uppwe (or lower) ends of the range of
observed values of the variable (IPCC, 2018). More information can be found in the guidelines document.
Please fill in the numbers in the box next to the event.
a. Heat waves
b. Cold spells
c. Droughts
d. Floods
e. Cyclones (including extratropical and tropical cyclones, storms, hurricanes, typhoons)
f. Other
g. No
h. No information
i. Other
80. If so, how did the frequency of the selected events change in the last 10 years?
a. Increase
b. No change
c. Decrease
d. No information
81. If so, please specify how you measure the extreme weather and climate events.
a. Agricultural meteorological station
b. Aircraft meteorological station
c. Automatic weather station (AWS)
d. Climatological station
e. Cryosphere station
f. Precipitation station
g. Radar wind profiler station
h. Radiation station
i. Sea profiling station
25
Climate extreme (extreme weather or climate event): The occurrence of a value of a weather or
climate variable above (or below) a threshold value near the upper (or lower) ends of the range of
observed values of the variable (IPCC, 2018).
j. Space Weather station
k. Surface land meteorological station (SYNOP)
l. Surface marine meteorological station
m. Upper-air / PILOT station
n. Upper-air / Radiosonde station
o. Weather radar
p. Other
q. No information
Indigenous peoples
83. If so, which Indigenous groups are living in the biosphere reserve? Please provide the names.
Ecosystem Restoration
84. Do you have ongoing ecosystem restoration26 projects in the biosphere reserve?
a. Yes
b. No
c. No information
85. If so, please select the type of ecosystem27 where you have ongoing restoration projects.
Ecosystem types according to the Synthesis report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Washington,
DC (Island Press, 2005). http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/Synthesis.aspx
a. Boreal forest
b. Temperate forest
c. Tropical/ sub-tropical forest
d. Temperate grassland
e. Mediterranean
f. Tropical grassland and savanna
g. Desert
h. Inland water
26
Ecosystem restoration means assisting in the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed,
as well as conserving the ecosystems that are still intact. Healthier ecosystems, with richer biodiversity, yield
greater benefits such as more fertile soils, bigger yields of timber and fish, and larger stores of greenhouse
gases. Restoration can happen in many ways – for example through actively planting or by removing pressures
so that nature can recover on its own. It is not always possible – or desirable – to return an ecosystem to its
original state. We still need farmland and infrastructure on land that was once forest, for instance, and
ecosystems, like societies, need to adapt to a changing climate. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is
running from 2021-2030. https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/
27
Ecosystem types according to the Synthesis report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Washington, DC (Island Press, 2005). http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/Synthesis.aspx
i. Coastal
j. Marine
k. Island
l. Mountain
m. Polar
n. Other (please specify):
86. Please further describe the ongoing ecosystem restoration projects in the biosphere reserve.
a. Name of project:
b. Website of project:
c. Total surface area restored (ha) restored until 2020:
d. Surface area to be restored (ha) from 2021-2030:
e. Comments:
Summarizing questions
87. Where do you see the strongest need for support to achieve sustainable development?
a. Governance and stakeholder/social engagement
b. Financial
c. Build networks/partnerships
b. Access to information
c. Development of management plans
d. Monitoring
e. Research
f. From the MAB secretariat
g. No information
h. Other (0lease specify)
88. In which areas have major changes occurred since the nomination of the biosphere reserve?
a. Participatory governance (stakeholder/Social engagement)
A. Increase
B. Decrease
C. No changes
D. No information
b. Research
A. Increase
B. Decrease
C. No changes
D. No information
c. Conservation
A. Increase
B. Decrease
C. No changes
D. No information
d. Sustainable economic activities (ecotourism, organic farming, local traditional
products)
A. Increase
B. Decrease
C. No changes
D. No information
e. Increase of visibility/communication
A. Increase
B. Decrease
C. No changes
D. No information
89. To which Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)28 do your best practices (select max 5) most
contribute? Please select the corresponding SDGs.
More information on the SDGs can be found in the guidelines document.
a. SDG1
b. SDG2
c. SDG3
d. SDG4
e. SDG5
f. SDG6
g. SDG7
h. SDG8
i. SDG9
j. SDG10
k. SDG11
l. SDG12
m. SDG13
n. SDG14
o. SDG15
p. SDG16
q. SDG17
90. Which three SDGs require significant additional effort to be achieved in the biosphere
reserve? Please select 3 answers.
a. SDG1
b. SDG2
c. SDG3
d. SDG4
28
https://sdgs.un.org/goals
e. SDG5
f. SDG6
g. SDG7
h. SDG8
i. SDG9
j. SDG10
k. SDG11
l. SDG12
m. SDG13
n. SDG14
o. SDG15
p. SDG16
q. SDG17