About borders and limits: experiences with UNESCO Biosphere Reserves for transboundary cooperation in Ukraine and neighbouring countries

Abstract

In Eastern Europe, several UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BRs) have been important promoters of transnational and transboundary nature conservation and sustainable development. Nevertheless, political and institutional barriersand scarcity of resources have hindered successful cross-border cooperation. The prospects for BRs in Eastern Europeare mixed, especially in relation to the challenges of ecosystem degradation and climate change, as well as socioeconomicand (geo)political crises. Based on our own experience of one and a half decades of growing cooperationbetween partners in Ukraine and Germany, we conclude that transnational cooperation between BRs and science isparticularly rewarding and mutually beneficial