Background

Ecosystems of coastal areas, small islands and mangroves have an important economic value for local population living from terrestrial and marine resourcesYet, due to population growth and migration of people towards large urban centres, the number of people living in coastal zones is constantly expanding. Moreover, coastal zones and islands are under permanent pressure for the needs of tourism. This situation leads to constant degradation of natural resources linked with social conflicts and environmental degradation.

Furthermore, the loss of traditional land use and fishery practices leads to over-fishing, erosion and loss of coastal land. In islands, the loss of species can greatly alter patterns of human settlement, employment, agriculture, fisheries, and tourism. This section presents a few of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme projects to related to these issues.

Coastal marine biosphere reserves: reference sites for monitoring coastal and marine biodiversity Marine protected areas are essential for:

• observing and measuring human impacts on the coastal/marine habitats
• developing more rigorous and innovative guidelines for their conservation and sustainable management

Biosphere reserves are sites of excellence recognized under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme. They offer privileged arenas for melding science and society. Their system of zoning allows targeted management, with different requirements for protection, scientific research and human use. A great number encompass coastal and marine areas.

Integrated Biodiversity Strategies for Islands and Coastal Areas (IBSICA) The IBSICA project (1996-2002) was implemented by UNESCO's Division of Ecological Sciences and by the Government of Germany (Ministry for Economic Co-operation, BMZ). It notably focused on:

• improving living conditions for the inhabitants of biosphere reserves in islands and/or coastal zones, with special attention to rational use of biodiversity
• strengthening and increasing capacities for carrying out management, research and training in the islands and coastal zones
• establishing REDBIOS, a network between existing island biosphere reserves
• encouraging new biosphere reserves on islands and/or coastal zones Read more on the IBSICA project

Asia-Pacific Co-operation for the Sustainable Use of Renewable Natural Resources in Biosphere Reserves and Similar Managed Areas (ASPACO)
The focus of this project is on:

• assisting UNESCO Member States in implementing the recommendations of the World Conference on Science (1999)
• identifying national strategies for biodiversity protection with special emphasis on coastal areas, small islands and mangroves
• South-South technology transfer and intensive training for the management of renewable natural resources

Regional seas partnership on marine and coastal protected areas
The complete name of this initiative is the UNESCO-UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) Regional Seas- CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) - Partnership on Marine and Coastal Protected Areas. It is designed to coordinate information related to marine and coastal protected areas in United Nations and other international processes. The aim is to contribute to establishing representative networks of marine protected areas by 2012, as agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development.