The Austrian biosphere reserves in the light of changing MAB strategies

Abstract

During the past four decades UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme and its World Network of Biosphere Reserves repeatedly went through significant adaptation and modernization processes. The Seville Strategy and the Statutory Framework (UNESCO 1996), the Madrid Action Plan (UNESCO 2008) and the MAB Strategy 2015-2025 (UNESCO 2016a), followed by the Lima Action Plan 2016-2025 (UNESCO 2016b) were important steps in modernizing the biosphere reserve concept. This article describes how the Austrian MAB National Committee has responded to this ongoing revision of UNESCO standards and worked towards a solution for the different levels of quality within the Austrian biosphere reserve network.