Paris, 2 June – The International Coordinating Council of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme has added 13 new sites and 7 extensions in 15 different countries to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR), which now numbers 564 sites in 109 countries.

The decision to include the new sites was taken during the 22nd session of the International Coordination Council, which took place from 31 May to 4 June at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.

Reserves were inscribed in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe for the first time this year. Sweden and the United Kingdom for their part decided to withdraw two sites from the World Network of Biosphere Reserves – Lake Torne and Taynish respectively – which do not meet the criteria set out in the Seville Strategy of 1995.

Biosphere reserves are areas designated under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme to serve as places to test different approaches to integrated management of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine resources and biodiversity. Biosphere Reserves are thus sites for experimenting with and learning about sustainable development.
(Source: UNESCO Press Release)

More information is available on the UNESCO website