Capital Magazine | 24 new sites join UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves

Mount Huangshan (China) – This site was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1990. The new biosphere reserve is located in southeastern China, in the ripples of the Nanling Mountains and is home to a forest ecosystem virtually intact since the last ice age. Following the Quaternary Ice Age, the Huangshan Mountain area has been used as a refuge for many archaic animal and plant species. As a result, this site is an important nursery for genetic material and an exceptional focus of biological, animal and plant diversity. The reserve is also an important source of water supply for the river basins of Xin, An, Qing Yi and Qiupu Rivers.

Chocó Andino de Pichincha (Ecuador) – Located in the north-west of Ecuador, in the province of Pichincha, this biosphere reserve reaches heights between 360 and 4 480 meters of altitude. It encompbades the Chocó-Darién rainforest and is a region of very high biodiversity, home to nearly 270 species of mammals, including the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), the Ecuadorian howler monkey ( Alouatta palliata ), the pacarana (Dinomys branickii) or endemic species such as the Chocó toucan or the Pichincha frog. The approximately 880,000 inhabitants of this biosphere reserve live mainly from the production of fruits and vegetables, sugar cane, fish farming, livestock and small businesses.

Wadi Wurayah (United Arab Emirates) – Located in the emirate of Fujairah, this biosphere reserve includes an arid climate basin that forms part of the Hajar Mountains. The fauna and flora of the site are endemic to the Arabian Peninsula. Wadi Wurayah is one of the last territories of the Emirates where the population has preserved and continues to practice traditional farming methods.

Mura River (Slovenia) – Located in the eastern part of the country, this biosphere reserve covers the largest protected area of ​​the flood plains of Slovenia. The intertwining of nature with the presence of the human being in this place has given rise to a unique river landscape. The main sources of income of the population are agriculture, industry, forestry and tourism.

Put (Spain) – Located in the southern Asturias, in the northern foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains, this reserve stretches across an isolated mountainous and wooded area with very little population. The site is characterized by its steep terrain, whose altitude varies between 213 and 2 142 meters above sea level, and also by its deep green valleys that seem to climb to the peaks giving a feeling of vertigo. The vegetation consists of extensive birch forests and mixed forests with sycamore, alder, ash, chestnut, oak and hazelnut. The reserve is also home to many animal species, some of which are endangered, such as brown bear, capercaillie, gray wolf and golden eagle.

Ural (Russian Federation) – Covered by mixed deciduous and coniferous forests, as well as mountain taiga spruce and spruce, this reserve is located in the southern part of the region. ; Urals. The mountain ranges, with peaks varying in height from 800 to 1,178 meters, are connected to the valleys by streams running through rocky bottoms. The western part of the reserve is located at low altitude and in the eastern part of the mountain range quite steep ridges alternate with depressions filled with lakes and deeply buried marshy valleys. The population of the site is estimated at 12,000 inhabitants who plan to move from a mining-based economy to a development model based on the sustainable management of natural resources, the promotion of tourism and the rehabilitation of degraded lands. through the exploitation of natural resources.

Khangchendzonga (India) – Located in the region of Sikkim State on the border of Nepal to the west and Tibet (China) to the north and east, This biosphere reserve is home to one of the world's highest ecosystems, since the height of its territory varies between 1,220 and 8,586 meters above sea level. This site, which is one of the 34 places in the world with the greatest biological diversity, has vast forests that are home to various living species with a high degree of endemism. The main economic activities are agriculture, horticulture, livestock, poultry, dairy production and fish farming.

Berbak-Sembilang (Indonesia) – Located on the southeast coast of the island of Sumatra, this biosphere reserve encompbades the Berbak and Sembilang National Parks as well as two wildlife sanctuaries. The site has intact peatland and freshwater forest ecosystems, as well as mangroves and flat forests that extend along the banks of rivers with swamps that reach a depth of 10 meters. The most important economic activities in this reserve are forestry, traditional agriculture (rice fields, rainfed crops, etc.) and the exploitation of oil palm and rubber.

Betung Kerihun Danau Sentarum Kapuas Hulu (Indonesia) – Located on the island of Borneo, at the eastern end of the Kalimantan Barat province, this biosphere reserve encompbades the two national parks of Betung Kerihun and Danau Sentarum. Its territory is characterized by the presence of tropical rainforest ecosystems of plain and mountain that are unique in their kind and host extremely diverse plant and animal species.

Rinjani-Lombok (Indonesia) – The biosphere reserve encompbades the island of Lombok, which is part of the Small Islands archipelago of the western Sunda. The territory of the reserve includes relatively flat coastal areas and hilly and mountainous areas. The highest point of the latter is Mount Rinjani, a volcano that rises to 3726 meters above sea level and is the second highest peak in Indonesia. The reserve has a rich biological diversity consisting of different types of forest vegetation, such as forest savannahs and montane and flat tropical rainforests, of which 40% are primary forests. The main sources of income for the site's population are fruit and vegetable and rice production, coffee and cocoa farming, poultry and livestock (cattle and goats).

Kopet-Dag (Iran, Islamic Republic of) – This biosphere reserve encompbades part of Kopet-Dag, the mountain range that stretches along the border between the Republic of Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkmenistan. The ecological region of this mbadif is a major component of the important focus of Irano-Anatolian biodiversity, whose main function is to conserve many species threatened with extinction. The most important economic activities are agriculture and livestock.

Monte Peglia (Italy) – Located in central Italy, this site is at the crossroads of the Tiber Basins to the east and its tributary Paglia to the west. It includes a vast forest area and is an important natural nursery of various species of animals, plants and fungi that live in the region of this mountain – an extinct ancient volcano – and in its environment. The natural resources of the reserve facilitate the realization of human activities compatible with sustainable development.

Val Camónica – Alto Sebino (Italy) – Located in the east of Lombardy, this site is characterized by the presence of typical alpine and pre-alpine landscapes that extend funds from valleys up to the highest peaks of Europe, the Adamello Glacier and Lake Iseo, the second largest of Italy . In the region of the reserve, crossed by rivers and dotted with lakes, forests, glaciers and meadows, ancestral methods of breeding and breeding are still practiced.

Charýn Biosphere Reserve (Kazakhstan) – Located in the south-east of the country, in the Ilí Highlands, this reserve includes the valley surrounded by its tributary the Charýn and the relic of A forest of ash trees, like the deserts and steppes characteristic of Central Asia. The fauna of the site is abundant and varied, and the presence of a thousand species of vascular plants shows the great diversity of its flora. Although agriculture has been the dominant economic activity in the region, horticulture, livestock and tourism have been booming for several years.

Zhongar Biosphere Reserve (Kazakhstan) – Situated on the northern slopes of the Zhetysu Alatau mountain range, this reserve covers all of the characteristic mountain ecosystems of Tian Shan and Asia Central. The site's territory is of global importance because it houses the gene pool of wild apple (Malus sieversii). The main economic activities are agriculture, industrial production of sunflower oil and flour, and the bottling of water sources. The lands are mainly used for pasture and mowing.

Tsimanampesotse – Nosy Ve Androka (Madagascar) – Located in the south-west of the country, this reserve is considered an important source of biodiversity because it constitutes a veritable mosaic of fragile ecosystems of land, coast and sea: coral reefs, fringes coastal areas, dunes, marine swamps, mangroves and coastal forests. The terrestrial part of the reserve has a small number of plant and animal species that nevertheless have a high rate of endemism (90%). The main economic activities are agriculture, livestock and fishing.

Quirimbas (Mozambique) – Located in the north of the country, in the province of Cabo Delgado, this site includes an archipelago of 11 islands, a set of marine parks, a bird sanctuary and a marine ecosystem. freshwater which includes the Montepuez River and Lake Bilibiza. The reserve has 3000 plant species, of which 1000 are endemic, and also has a rich fauna composed mainly of 23 species of reptiles, 447 birds and 46 terrestrial mammals. Among these are numerous specimens of four of the five large African mammals, namely elephants, lions, buffaloes and leopards. In addition, eight species of marine mammals live in the waters of the reserve, particularly whales and dolphins. The main economic activities of the population of the region are fishing, livestock, crafts, tourism and shipping.

Maasheggen (The Netherlands) – This biosphere reserve encompbades the agricultural fluvial landscape of the Meuse Valley in the south-east of the country, shaped by a constant interaction between man and nature . Used for the breeding and production of forage plants, its territory encompbades the largest and oldest hedgerow system in the Netherlands. The landscape is formed by a mosaic of small agricultural plots surrounded by hedgerows, sand dunes, forests, lakes, wet meadows and reed beds. The reserve is intended to serve as a testing ground for sustainable development and tourism.

Suncheon Biosphere Reserve (Republic of Korea) – Located at the southern tip of the Korean peninsula, this reserve encompbades the terrestrial ecosystems of the Mohusan and Jogyesan Mountains surrounding the town of Suncheon, as well as the coastal wetland ecosystems of Suncheonman Bay. This site is full of animal biological resources, especially fish, crustaceans and crustaceans, as well as vegetables, including medicinal plants, reeds such as Phragmites communis and halophytic plants like Suaeda japonica. The territory's population is made up of villagers, fishermen and mountaineers, and economic activities include rice, medicinal plants and fruit trees such as plums and persimmons.

Mount Kumgang (Democratic People's Republic of) Korea) – Located in the south-east of the country, in the middle of the great mountain range which rises to Mount Paektu, this reserve covers some marine areas in its part. Eastern. Its territory is home to a forest ecosystem linked to agricultural landscapes and coastal and lake ecosystems, home to many rare and endemic living species. The natural lakes and the coastal area of ​​the reserve territory provide a habitat for migratory birds that follow the Asia-Australasia route. Fishing, agriculture and forestry are the main economic activities of this site.

Bajo Prout (Republic of Moldova) – Located in the south of the country, this biosphere reserve includes the lower reaches of the Prout River and several floodplain lakes. Beleu Lake occupies two-thirds of the total area of ​​the site and the wetland that extends along the left bank of the Prout is home to a diverse array of aquatic, forest and grbadland ecosystems. The main economic activity is agriculture, which provides the local population 90% of their income.

Okra Masito Ugalla (United Republic of Tanzania) – Site of great importance for research on chimpanzees, this biosphere reserve includes the Gombo National Park, several forest reserves and part of Lake Tanganyika . Among the animal species that inhabit its territory, we find African elephants and horned frogs, as well as eight different species of primates, and among the plant species, we find a variety of asteraceae discovered in the region. of Gombo ( Pleiotaxis gombensis ). Lake Tanganyika, the deepest of Africa, has more than 300 species of fish and 250 birds and reptiles (aquatic cobras and aquatic snakes of Tanganyika).

Marico (South Africa) – Located in the north of the country, this biosphere reserve is made up of a unique freshwater ecosystem, which includes the Molopo and Marico river basins, in more than the source of Molemane. This ecosystem is characterized by the presence of wetlands, as well as dolomites which represent an important element of South Africa's natural heritage. The site's savannah and grazing areas harbor vulnerable plant species such as Searsia maricoana and endemic wildlife includes 73 species of mammals, particularly African elephants, black rhinos and lions. . The main economic activities are the cultivation of food plants, farming, exploitation of hunting resources and tourism.