2025-2026 map launched of the world network of biosphere reserves
UNESCO has unveiled its 2025–2026 Map of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, highlighting 784 biosphere reserves across 142 countries. These sites are globally recognized as living laboratories where people and nature work in harmony to tackle some of the planet’s most urgent challenges. Working together towards a sustainable future.
Understanding UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme
At the heart of this network lies UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, launched in the 1970’s. Its goal is deeply rooted in a simple yet powerful vision: to improve the relationship between humans and their environments.
Through its World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR), MAB supports sites that fulfill three complementary functions:
Conservation – preserving biological and cultural diversity
Sustainable Development – supporting economic growth that respects people and the environment
Logistic Support – providing space for research, education, monitoring, and capacity building
Over the decades, biosphere reserves have grown into hubs of innovation, where local communities, scientists, governments, and the private sector collaborate to scale up nature-based solutions.
Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve was nominated in 2007 as part of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve programme, and is one of five biosphere reserves in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Explore or download the 2025 - 2026 map: UNESCDOC Digital Library
Learn more about the UNESCO Man and Biosphere reserve Programme
Exploring further, read an article that we published in 2021 SHORT HISTORY OF THE UNESCO MAN AND THE BIOSPHERE PROGRAMME AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN SOUTH AFRICA
Youth on a hike in the core of Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve, forming part of the Boland Mountain range