Background:

• According to the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services released in 2019 by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, the main global drivers of biodiversity loss are climate change, invasive species, over-exploitation of natural resources, pollution and urbanisation.
• Because of the collective excesses, the ecological carrying capacity of planet earth has largely been exceeded.
• The trend needs to be redressed, with cleaner air, high quality drinking water, and enough food and healthy habitats to ensure that ecosystem services continue to benefit humanity without critically affecting nature’s balance.

Biosphere reserves:

• The World Network of Biosphere Reserves was created in 1971 by UNESCO.
• Biosphere reserves are places where humans live in harmony with nature, and where there is an effective combination of sustainable development and nature conservation.
• They represent pockets of hope and proof that the earth is not inexorably headed towards a doomsday ecological scenario, provided  appropriate actions are taken.
• In South Asia, over 30 biosphere reserves have been established. The first one was the Hurulu Biosphere Reserve in Sri Lanka, which was designated in 1977 and comprises 25,500 hectares within the tropical dry evergreen forest.
• In India, the first biosphere reserve was designated by UNESCO in 2000 within the blue mountains of the Nilgiris.
• It stretches across the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
• The network has gone from strength to strength, and it now counts 12 sites, with Panna, in the State of Madhya Pradesh, as the latest inscription in 2020.

Diverse set of ecosystem:

• The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, established in 2018, is a good model.
• It includes some of the highest ecosystems in the world, with elevations up to 8,586 metres.
• The reserve is home to orchids and rare plant species.
• At the same time, more than 35,000 people live there.
• Their main economic activities are crop production, animal husbandry, fishing, dairy products and poultry farming.
• Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka all have extensive coastlines, with coral reefs and mangrove forests.
• These areas are exposed to extreme weather events (storms, floods, droughts), and sea-level rise.
• The Maldives are recognised as the lowest-lying country in the world, with a mere elevation of 1.5 metres above the high tide mark.
• Together with UNESCO, the archipelago has embarked on a plan to establish pilot sites for the conservation and restoration of coastal ecosystems, and to enhance the population’s knowledge on climate change adaptation.
• Separately, three biosphere reserves have already been created in the Maldives.

Scientific approach:

• UNESCO Biosphere Reserves have all developed science-based management plans, where local solutions for sustainable human living and nature conservation are being tested and best practices applied.
• Issues of concern include biodiversity, clean energy, climate, environmental education, and water and waste management, supported by scientific research and monitoring. 
• The aim is to detect changes and find solutions to increase climate resilience.
• All biosphere reserves are internationally recognised sites on land, at the coast, or in the oceans.
• Some of the countries in South Asia do not yet have any or enough biosphere reserves.
• More financial support from richer nations and from the private sector would be desirable for establishing biosphere reserves in these countries.

Priority countries:

• Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal are on the priority list of UNESCO, because they do not yet have any biosphere reserves.
• Their governments are already working on their first nomination files.
• It would be important to increase the number of biosphere reserves in India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Conclusion:

• Biodiversity is the living fabric of our planet.It underpins human well-being in the present and in the future, and its rapid decline threatens nature and people.

Reference:

1.  https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/pockets-of-hope-linking-nature-and-humanity/article65430901.ece