Governing human-nature harmony in protected area communities: Global lessons from UNESCO’s MAB network and evidence from China’s biosphere reserves

Authors

Baorong HUANG, Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; School of Public Policy and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 110148, China; National Parks and Protected Areas Research Center, Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, ChinaFollow
Xuetian HU, Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; School of Public Policy and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 110148, China; National Parks and Protected Areas Research Center, Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Ling TANG, Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; School of Public Policy and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 110148, China; National Parks and Protected Areas Research Center, Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, ChinaFollow
Qingyu LU, School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China

Keywords

Man and the Biosphere (MAB); biosphere reserve; harmonious human-nature coexistence; protected-area community; ecological value conversion

Document Type

Academic Progress and Strategic Thinking

Abstract

Building human-nature harmonious communities is foundational to effective protected-area governance. Drawing on fifty years of global practice under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, this study distills four practice-oriented insights: establishing co-management committees to secure the institutional basis; developing ecological branding to add value to ecological products and raise household incomes; cultivating ecological flagships to enhance international reputation and attract investment; and safeguarding cultural diversity to strengthen residents’ sense of belonging and support for management. Case materials are integrated from 34 biosphere reserves in China and an observational indicator framework is constructed and a survey-based assessment is conducted for descriptive comparison and evidence synthesis. Results show that, alongside overall ecological improvement, most sites report positive movement in project investment, community participation, ecological branding, and household incomes, while ecological monitoring and research platforms require further strengthening. China’s MAB practice is further summarized as embedding the ecological civilization vision into management rules; specifying mandatory community-development targets in the nomination and decadal evaluation of biosphere reserve status; and coupling capacity-building with policy support to achieve co-benefits for conservation and livelihoods.

First page

1558

Last Page

1571

Language

Chinese

Publisher

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences

References

1. Garnett S T, Burgess N D, Fa J E, et al. A spatial overview of the global importance of Indigenous lands for conservation. Nature Sustainability, 2018, 1(7): 369-374.

2. Oldekop J A, Holmes G, Harris W E, et al. A global assessment of the social and conservation outcomes of protected areas. Conservation Biology, 2016, 30(1): 133-141.

3. Soliku O, Schraml U. Making sense of protected area conflicts and management approaches: A review of causes, contexts and conflict management strategies. Biological Conservation, 2018, 222: 136-145.

4. Andrade G S M, Rhodes J R. Protected areas and local communities: An inevitable partnership toward successful conservation strategies? . Ecology and Society, 2012, 17(4): art14.

5. Clements T, Suon S, Wilkie D S, et al. Impacts of protected areas on local livelihoods in Cambodia. World Development, 2014, 64: 125-134.

6. Hernes M I, Metzger M J. Understanding local community’s values, worldviews and perceptions in the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere Reserve, Scotland. Journal of Environmental Management, 2017, 186: 12-23.

7. Martin A, Myers R, Dawson N M. The park is ruining our livelihoods. we support the park! unravelling the paradox of attitudes to protected areas. Human Ecology, 2018, 46(1): 93-105.

8. Nolte C, Agrawal A, Silvius K M, et al. Governance regime and location influence avoided deforestation success of protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon. PNAS, 2013, 110(13): 4956-4961.

9. Herrera D, Pfaff A, Robalino J. Impacts of protected areas vary with the level of government: Comparing avoided deforestation across agencies in the Brazilian Amazon. PNAS, 2019, 116(30): 14916-14925.

10. Rodriguez Solorzano C, Fleischman F. Institutional legacies explain the comparative efficacy of protected areas: Evidence from the Calakmul and Maya Biosphere Reserves of Mexico and Guatemala. Global Environmental Change, 2018, 50: 278-288.

11. Devine J A, Currit N, Reygadas Y, et al. Drug trafficking, cattle ranching and Land use and Land cover change in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve. Land Use Policy, 2020, 95: 104578.

12. Zhang J Z, Yin N, Li Y, et al. Socioeconomic impacts of a protected area in China: An assessment from rural communities of Qianjiangyuan National Park Pilot. Land Use Policy, 2020, 99: 104849.

13. 黄宝荣. 健全国家公园治理体系，高质量推动世界最大的国家公园体系建设. 中国科学院院刊, 2024, 39(2): 219-229. Huang B R. Improve governance system of National Parks, build the world’s largest National Park system with high quality. Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2024, 39(2): 219-229. (in Chinese)

14. 欧阳志云, 唐小平, 杜傲, 等. 科学建设国家公园：进展、挑战与机遇. 国家公园（中英文）, 2023(2): 67-74. Ouyang Z Y, Tang X P, Du A, et al. Building China’s National Park systems scientifically: Challenges and opportunities. National Park, 2023(2): 67-74. (in Chinese)

15. 张引, 杨锐. 中国自然保护区社区共管现状分析和改革建议. 中国园林, 2020, 36(8): 31-35. Zhang Y, Yang R. The analysis of the current situation and reform proposals of community-based co-management in China’s nature reserves. Chinese Landscape Architecture, 2020, 36(8): 31-35. (in Chinese)

16. Ma T, Swallow B, Foggin J M, et al. Co-management for sustainable development and conservation in Sanjiangyuan National Park and the surrounding Tibetan nomadic pastoralist areas. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 2023, 10: 321.

17. 王昌海, 谢梦玲. 以国家公园为主体的自然保护地治理：历程、挑战以及体系优化. 中国农村经济, 2023, (5): 139-162. Wang C H, Xie M L. Governance of nature reserves with National Parks as the main body: History, challenges, and systemic optimization. Chinese Rural Economy, 2023, (5): 139-162. (in Chinese)

18. Hirschnitz-Garbers M, Stoll-Kleemann S. Opportunities and barriers in the implementation of protected area management: A qualitative meta-analysis of case studies from European protected areas. The Geographical Journal, 2011, 177(4): 321-334.

19. Reyes-García V, Fernández-Llamazares Á, McElwee P, et al. The contributions of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to ecological restoration. Restoration Ecology, 2019, 27(1): 3-8.

20. Bocci C, Fortmann L, Sohngen B, et al. The impact of community forest concessions on income: An analysis of communities in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. World Development, 2018, 107: 10-21.

21. Bodin Ö. Collaborative environmental governance: Achieving collective action in social-ecological systems. Science, 2017, 357: eaan1114.

22. Bridgewater P, Babin D. UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserves already deal with ecosystem services and sustainable development. PNAS, 2017, 114(22): E4318.

23. Borrini G, Farvar M T, Kothari A, Pimbert M, Renard Y. Sharing power: learning-by-doing in co-management of natural resources throughout the world. London: IIED, 2004.

24. Dawson N M, Coolsaet B, Sterling E J, et al. The role of Indigenous peoples and local communities in effective and equitable conservation. Ecology and Society, 2021, 26(3): art19.

25. Palliwoda J, Fischer J, Felipe-Lucia M R, et al. Ecosystem service coproduction across the zones of biosphere reserves in Europe. Ecosystems and People, 2021, 17(1): 491-506.

26. 王丁, 刘宁, 陈向军, 等. 推动人与自然和谐共处和可持续发展: 人与生物圈计划在中国. 中国科学院院刊, 2021, 36(4): 448-455. Wang D, Liu N, Chen X J, et al. To harmonize relationship between human and nature and achieve sustainable development: UNESCO’s man the and biosphere programme in China. Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2021, 36(4): 448-455. (in Chinese)

27. Stoll-Kleemann A C D L VS. The role of community participation in the effectiveness of UNESCO Biosphere Reserve management: Evidence and reflections from two parallel global surveys. Environmental Conservation, 2010, 37(3): 227-238.

28. Plummer R, Baird J, Dzyundzyak A, et al. Is adaptive co-management delivering? examining relationships between collaboration, learning and outcomes in UNESCO biosphere reserves. Ecological Economics, 2017, 140: 79-88.

29. Schultz L, West S, Bourke A J, et al. Learning to live with social-ecological complexity: An interpretive analysis of learning in 11 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. Global Environmental Change, 2018, 50: 75-87.

30. Millner N, Peñagaricano I, Fernandez M, et al. The politics of participation: Negotiating relationships through community forestry in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala. World Development, 2020, 127: 104743.

31. Knaus F, Bonnelame L K, Siegrist D. The economic impact of labeled regional products: The experience of the UNESCO biosphere reserve entlebuch. Mountain Research and Development, 2017, 37(1): 121-130.

32. Nguyen A T, Ha V D, Ngo H K, et al. Understanding the importance of eco-labeling for organic foods at UNESCO biosphere reserves: A case study of the cocoa powder at the Dong Nai, Vietnam. Sustainability, 2023, 15(12): 9603.

33. Eliasson I, Fredholm S, Knez I, et al. Cultural values of landscapes in the practical work of biosphere reserves. Land, 2023, 12(3): 587.

34. Klaver M, Currie B, Sekonya J G, et al. Learning through place-based implementation of the UNESCO MAB program in South Africa’s oldest biosphere reserve: A case study of the kogelberg biosphere reserve. Land, 2024, 13(4): 455.

35. Winter K B, Ticktin T, Quazi S A. Biocultural restoration in Hawaii also achieves core conservation goals. Ecology and Society, 2020, 25: art26.

Recommended Citation

HUANG, Baorong; HU, Xuetian; TANG, Ling; and LU, Qingyu (2024) "Governing human-nature harmony in protected area communities: Global lessons from UNESCO’s MAB network and evidence from China’s biosphere reserves," Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version): Vol. 40 : Iss. 9 , Article 11.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3724/j.issn.1000-3045.20250503004
Available at: https://bulletinofcas.researchcommons.org/journal/vol40/iss9/11